Netfuture: The future is networked

Year: 2022

  • Web3 is just expensive P2P

    Web3 is just expensive P2P

    Web3 claims to be the only way to save us from commercial entities defining what we can see and what not. Yet, it does exactly this: It results in commercialized entities defining what we can see and what not.

  • chrony NTS certificate reload

    chrony NTS certificate reload

    The chrony NTS daemon has no way to automatically reload its NTS certificate. A quick hack fixes this.

  • Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Blockchain

    Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Blockchain

    Blockchain, cryptocurrencies, smart contracts, Web3 and NFT are the talk of the town. Almost everyone has an opinion, but hardly anyone understands the foundations or relationships. The goal of this series, whose first part you are currently reading, is to provide a structured presentation of promises, the technology behind, and the reality. Using everyday analogies…

  • Data lifecycle questions, not only for Blockchains

    Data lifecycle questions, not only for Blockchains

    In any data-centric applications, understanding the data lifecycle (also as part of the product lifecycle) is important, especially when trust or traceability are also goals. If Blockchain should play a role, then the requirements associated with the data lifecycle can even become a decisive factor: Either adapt the data model or the processes, or, if…

  • Solana Blockchain: Proof of History analogies

    Solana Blockchain: Proof of History analogies

    Here are some attempts to compare Proof of History (PoH), as used by the Solana blockchain, with Proof of Work (PoW). Comparisons to real-world activities, such as dice rolling or outer-space rubber-stamp throwing are also included.

  • Bitcoin Block Timing Statistics

    Bitcoin Block Timing Statistics

    Bitcoin wants to be a universal payment means, providing rapid transactions. Here is an analysis on the blockchain timing, based on their timestamps.

  • Git, PGP, and the Blockchain: A Comparison

    Git, PGP, and the Blockchain: A Comparison

    The Blockchain, a cryptographically linked list with additional restrictions, is often touted to be the most significant innovation towards democratization of the digital landscape, especially the Internet. However, the ideas did not come out of thin air, but have ancestors and relatives. An attempt at technological genealogy.

  • Network Time Security: NTS articles overview

    Network Time Security: NTS articles overview

    NTP, the Network Time Protocol, is the way most computers and mobile devices obtain their time through. NTS (Network Time Security) is to NTP what HTTPS is to HTTP. It also is as easy to upgrade as upgrading to HTTPS is these days: No effort for the client, just adding a certificate for the server.…

  • Debugging NTS problems

    Debugging NTS problems

    Debugging is hard, debugging security protocols doubly so. And there are not many tools and how-to’s available for NTS yet. So, here’s a (short) list of NTS problems I have seen and some tricks for debugging them.

  • NTS and dynamic IP addresses

    NTS and dynamic IP addresses

    Good news is that NTS relies on DNS names, no longer “naked” IP addresses. But what happens when the DNS name changes, pointing to a different IP address? A look at the protocol, the Chrony source, and the implications.