P2P Cloud vs Golem Comparison

Overview:

About 67% of the world’s infrastructure is controlled by three cloud providers: AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud. This centralization creates a risk of censorship and limits the applications and usage that can be conducted on their hardware. In web3 or traditional tech, maintaining a decentralized network is essential.

For developers, server admins, RPC providers, startups, small and medium-sized businesses(SMBs), etc., deploying on one of the major cloud providers can be costly for the resources or server(s) needed to perform any intensive operation. This cost makes it difficult for anyone to sustain their concept or project.

Because of this, we have seen an emergence of companies like P2P Cloud, POKT, Golem Network, Akash Network, and more aiming to disrupt the space by creating a more decentralized alternative to how we interact in traditional and web3 ecosystems.

This post will explore how P2P Cloud and Golem Network are working to decentralize the world’s infrastructure ecosystem.

What is P2P Cloud:

P2P Cloud bridges the gap of security and reliability through a decentralized marketplace connecting anyone from developers, startups, SMBs, RPC providers, etc., to providers offering virtual machines (VM), granting security and reliability in a trustless way.

P2P Cloud handles security by creating a Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) every time a user books and launches a VM. Users can securely run any application without worrying about outside tampering, which creates a trustless ecosystem where clients don’t have to trust the provider.

Because every provider owns the hardware(or data center), providers can charge less than a third of the cost compared to the big 3(AWS, Azure, GCP). So if you’re a web developer, hobbyist, SMB, or midsized business, you can efficiently build and scale your business without any compromises.

Our TEE is secured through an attestation process to encrypt its infrastructure. It encrypts the enclave using the user’s Metamask signature on the provider’s machine, guaranteeing local encryption, so only the user can access the virtual machine. However, there are limitations on who can be a provider since P2P Cloud can only run on hardware with AMD EPYC processors.

What is Golem Network:

Golem is an open-source, decentralized supercomputer that connects users to providers leasing out their idle hardware and resources in a peer-to-peer fashion through their decentralized marketplace. Golem is a two-sided marketplace consisting of requestors and providers.

  • Requestor - anyone who needs to utilize idle computational resources on the network.
  • Provider- anyone with idle hardware wishes to sell its compute.

At a high level, the standard flow of being a requestor is:

  • Define the requirements their app utilizes at run time(memory, CPU, GPU, etc.) or the runtime env(Node.js, Python, Swift, GO, Java Virtual Machine, etc.)
  • Select a provider(s) with the offered resources and get access to its resources
  • Define the files(or code) the provider(s) need to execute.
  • Send the files(or code) to the providers and get back the response

Golem operates using their native token, GLM, that any requestor needs to be able to pay for the computational resources from the provider when required. The provider renting out their resources are then rewarded in the same token.

How do they help decentralize the web:

Golem and P2P Cloud technologies help decentralize the web by creating a distributed network of computers and enabling peer-to-peer interactions. They allow for more secure, private data sharing and efficient resource utilization. With a decentralized web, users can avoid centralized control and censorship, reduce the risk of single points of failure, and provide security and transparency.

How are they different:

While P2P Cloud and Golem aim to decentralize the web by providing alternatives to traditional infrastructure ecosystems, their approach and services differ.

Golem allows individuals to access resources as needed to process requests. At the same time, P2P Cloud will enable individuals to spin up their VM through any provider with the required specs through the marketplace.

As for security, P2P Cloud is secured by default through its attestation process, which encrypts the enclave using your Metamask signature on the provider’s machine, guaranteeing a TEE that no one but you can access the VM. However, there are limitations on who can be a provider since P2P Cloud can only run on hardware with AMD EPYC processors.

Golem isn’t currently encrypted or has any security implementation, but they are still working on solutions to protect the requestor and providers on the network. As it stands, the hardening ultimately relies on the provider’s setup of their machine.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, the current centralized infrastructure ecosystem risks censorship and limits the types of applications and usage that can be conducted on their hardware. However, emerging companies such as P2P Cloud and Golem are creating decentralized alternatives to traditional infrastructure ecosystems, which offer more secure and private data sharing and more efficient resource utilization.

Golem is an open-source, decentralized supercomputer that connects users to providers leasing out their idle hardware and resources in a peer-to-peer fashion through their decentralized marketplace. On the other hand, P2P Cloud is a decentralized marketplace alternative that connects individuals, startups, SMBs, and web3 node operators to providers offering VMs.

While both companies help decentralize the web by creating a distributed network of computers and enabling peer-to-peer interactions, they differ in their approach. Golem allows individuals to access resources as needed to process requests, whereas P2P Cloud will enable individuals to spin up a VM through any provider without needing to trust the provider’s thanks through a Trusted Execution Environment.

By creating a more decentralized alternative to how we interact in traditional and web3 ecosystems, we can move toward a more open and censorship-resistant internet that benefits all users.

To learn more about P2P Cloud, visit our website and join our telegram community.