Data Providers

Introduction

Data providers are a critical element in the Arkeo network. They provide access to API services that can be consumed by users, dApps, or any other system that requires decentralized access to arbitrary data. Typically, this is a blockchain node operator that makes data commercially available to dApps, such as an Ethereum node. By registering themselves on chain and providing a bond, they become discoverable (typically by the Directory Service) by any client who wishes to consume their data service.

Bonding

The first step is for a provider to register a service with the Arkeo Network by calling BondProvider. In this call the provider will specify their public key, the name of the service they are registering (e.g. btc-mainnet-fullnode) and a bond amount in ARKEO tokens. In order for clients to open a valid contract with a specific provider, the provider must post the minimum bond amount specified by the Arkeo network.

Providers are free to un-bond at any time by calling BondProvider with a negative amount of ARKEO tokens representing the amount they wish to un-bond. If this drops the provider's bond below the configured global minimum, clients will no longer be able to open new contracts with that provider. However, any existing contracts will remain valid until they expire or provider or the client cancels.

Additional Provider Information

Providers call ModProvider in order to establish or modify additional metadata about their services, state, and rates. The below fields are currently included as part of this call

Service             string
MetadataUri         string
MetadataNonce       uint64
Status              ProviderStatus
MinContractDuration int64
MaxContractDuration int64
SubscriptionRate    []types.Coin
PayAsYouGoRate      []types.Coin
SettlementDuration  int64

This information is stored on-chain and can be queried by clients in order to determine the best provider for their needs. Additionally the directory service may be used to query this information in order to provide a more complete view of the providers available on the network.

Provider Payments

Payments for the consumption of services offered by providers are handled on-chain. Depending on the contract type, the client will either pay a subscription rate or a pay-as-you-go rate denominated in tokens agreed upon in the contract. For more information on the contract lifecycle, see contracts.

Sentinel

Sentinel provides a reference implementation to demonstrate how a provider may expose their services to ARKEO users and the needed cryptographic validation for each API requests.