How CESS is handling the growing problem of data ownership

It’s been over a decade since the first revelations of large-scale snooping leaked from Edward Snowden’s Hong Kong hotel room. Data flows on the internet have changed quite a bit since then. Google’s latest measurements from their transparency report rate the adoption of HTTPS traffic over ChromeOS at 99%.

While such statistics may seem like a significant improvement, the reality is that much of our traffic is just encrypted in transit. What happens on the server side all too often remains a mystery to the data owners, which begs the question: Whose data is it anyway?

Corporations and individuals are as hungry as ever for data solutions. While our dependence upon cloud storage continues to grow, so too do our trust assumptions of large corporations and their integrations with third-party service providers. Take my bank, for example, which switched to a third-party service to store my credit card statements. As a customer, I was never asked whether or not I agreed to this change. Nor was I given any explanation of the benefits. It was just forced on me.

Data ownership within Web2 environments is a massive gray area, with large centralized companies controlling the majority of the traffic and hosting facilities. Web3 offers self-sovereign solutions to these issues of centralization, although the user experience has plenty of catching up to do.

Web3 data loss is a real consideration, while wrapping your head around pricing models and verifying the quality of an infrastructure’s service providers can be challenging too. Not to mention slow retrieval times, or lack of compliance with real-world data storage laws like GDPR or California’s CCPA. Web3 may be OK for personal use, but it’s not yet up to par for demanding commercial applications.

In short, we need Web3 solutions with Web2 performance.

CESS’s Enterprise-Level Web3 Data Solution

CESS positions itself as a decentralized storage and content delivery network infrastructure for Web3. It aims to become an open platform, built to meet the demands of the problem addressed just before: Web3 services with Web2 performance.

Portrait images of the CESS management team. — Source: *cess.network*

CESS is headed up by Chairman Nicholas Zaldastani (ex-Oracle Director), along with Co-founders Joseph Li (Technical Lead) and Jessie Dai (COO). The team is laser-focused on bringing Web3 applications to the next level through enterprise-grade storage solutions. And it’s not just marketing hype.

Since forming in 2019, the team has been on a streak of protocol upgrades and project developments. The project moved to testnet in 2021 and is expected to launch its mainnet later this year. That’s given them plenty of time to rack up achievements like placing first in a Polkadot hackathon and completing three grants from the Web3 Foundation.

The project also received a rather significant endorsement in the form of an IEEE Standard approval earlier this year. As the crypto industry enters a pivotal era of regulation and standardization, the acceptance of CESS’s blockchain-based decentralized storage proposal is quite the stamp of approval.

CESS has secured several top-notch technical and business partnerships with the likes of AWS, Intel, and Tencent, as well as IoTeX and Polkadot on the crypto side.

Graphic showing an overview of numerous CESS partners. — *Source:* *cess.network*

Ensuring data sovereignty

A key element of CESS’s mission is data sovereignty. CESS enables users to select the geographical region where their data is stored. This aspect is easily overlooked but is very important: If Web3 is to truly scale, it must comply and collaborate with real-world data regulations like Europe’s GDPR or California’s CCPA. A transparent, verifiable system is arguably even better for data regulation than what Web2 currently offers. Trust me, bro!

Data value and privacy in the decentralized data economy

Alongside data sovereignty, CESS is dedicated to empowering the data economy, while keeping privacy firmly in mind. Key to this approach is the establishment of an open and decentralized storage and content delivery system, the robust foundation for its data value network.

The CESS ecosystem aims to bring together developers, creators, businesses, and consumers to improve data sharing and create fairer value flows. Most importantly, CESS gives data owners control over how their data is valued and shared, promoting true ownership.

How CESS Works

CESS operates within a multi-layer architecture consisting of the blockchain layer, the storage resource and content delivery layers, and the interface (application) layer.

A diagram displaying CESS architecture — *Source:* *cess.network*

CESS uses the Substrate framework to deploy its blockchain and is compatible with EVM and WASM smart contracts (using the Ink! language), making it cross-compatible with numerous blockchains.

While the blockchain element provides transaction transparency and smart contract functionality, and the interface layer lets users interact with CESS-enabled services, it’s the content delivery and storage resources that make the network truly useful. This is the utility aspect that makes this project a DePIN.

In order to enable a robust and efficient ecosystem, CESS separates the various functions and responsibilities within the network between four distinct miner types:

Storage miner
Consensus miner
Retrieval miner
Cache miner

Alongside this layered architecture is a relatively new addition: the XESS AI Protocol Suite. This AI solution is purposefully designed to combine data from different organizations into a single shared model.

Graphical representation of 4 siloed GPU clusters being grouped to create a shared AI training model — *Source:* *CESS white paper*

Different nodes on the network can learn and train the model in parallel. Notably, the AI models work with encrypted data, so private information stays private. According to their documentation, this AI-sharing infrastructure is set to launch in Q4 2025.

With that high-level view of the CESS architecture out the way, let’s dive into the acronyms that make this all possible!

PoDR²

Proof of Data Reduplication and Recovery (PoDR²) is a mechanism designed to prevent single points of failure.

Table showing various features of the CESS PoDR² mechanism — *Source:* *CESS presentation at Polkadot Decoded 2022*

When data is uploaded to the network, three copies are made, then fragmented, encrypted, and distributed globally to random network nodes. The protocol periodically controls segments of the fragmented data for signs of damage or corruption. If something erroneous turns up, PoDR² helps restore the original data.

PoIS

Proof of Idle Space (PoIS) verifies that a node’s declared storage space actually exists.

Flowchart showing the CESS Smart Space Management at work. — *Source:* *CESS presentation at Polkadot Decoded 2023*

The protocol is capable of entering into a node’s storage space, where it performs a write function with random characters. This method ensures that the storage resources are indeed valid and readily available to the network.

It also enables CESS to democratize participation across various storage node types. CESS uses a “smart space management” process to distribute larger datasets over numerous nodes, giving devices with less storage capacity a better chance of participating and earning rewards.

PReT

Proxy Re-encryption Technology (PReT) is a method for authorizing access to data using private keys.

Table showing various features of the CESS PReT mechanism — *Source:* *CESS presentation at Polkadot Decoded 2022*

Authentication is taken for granted in Web2, with the increase in online collaboration due to remote work. Methods like this enable teams and businesses to share secure data without revealing the actual data content.

The technology is still being worked on and is not scheduled for release until Q3 2026.

R²S

Random Rotational Selection (R²S) is the name chosen for the consensus mechanism that underpins the CESS network.

Table showing various features of the CESS R²S mechanism — *Source:* *CESS presentation at Polkadot Decoded 2022*

11 consensus miners are chosen at a time, and are rotated while on duty. Once 3,600 blocks have been produced, the following 11 nodes are selected. Not just any node can be chosen however. A node’s eligibility is derived from its reputation and credibility, which is earned through achievements such as uptime and contributions.

MDRC

Multi-format Data Rights Confirmation (MDRC) is a protocol designed to prove data ownership.

Table showing various features of the CESS MDRC mechanism — *Source:* *CESS presentation at Polkadot Decoded 2022*

MDRC extracts fingerprints from data such as text, photos, and video, and stores them onchain for permanent traceability. Technology like this will become crucial in the fight against deep fakes and information manipulation.

This is not live yet and is set to launch in Q4 2026.

CD²N

Content Decentralized Delivery Network (CD²N) is the name given to CESS’s high-speed retrieval system for content stored on the network.

Flowchart showing various functions of the CESS CD²N mechanism — *Source:* *CESS white paper v0.9*

CESS employs a combination of data pooling and indexing techniques to achieve millisecond-level data retrieval. There are several key benefits to this approach, such as processing data closer to end-users through edge computing, elastic scaling to meet higher demand requirements, uninterrupted service thanks to advanced fault tolerance mechanisms, and seamless integration with other content delivery networks.

CESS AI-LINK

CESS AI-LINK is a Byzantine-robust circuit that leverages the aforementioned XESS AI Protocol Suite.

Technical drawing representing the smart contract feature in CESS AI-LINK — *Source:* *cess.network/ai.html*

It facilitates collaborative machine learning model training without sharing the original data from contributing nodes. Such nodes can range from single GPUs to GPU clusters or even other DePINs.

This decentralized, federated learning solution uses smart contracts to update the shared global model.

CESS Products

CESS is still on testnet, where they have over 22 PiB of storage space. Now I don’t know about you, but PiBs and PBs aren’t amounts I’m used to seeing on a daily basis. A quick calculation shows me that the amount equates to almost 25,000 terabytes. Considering the triple copy procedure used in PoDR², my guess is that only a third of that storage space is readily available. It’s still a decent amount of space for a Web3 storage project.

Two distinct products currently leverage this space: DeShare for consumers and DeOSS for enterprise clients. In addition to these offerings, CESS appears to be working on its DeCloud solution, but little information is publicly available at the time of writing.

DeShare

DeShare is a file upload interface currently limited to 200MB. It allows users to upload and share files quickly and easily using the CESS infrastructure.

I tried it out myself, and the process was quick and smooth. I took this screenshot of the interface, made some sophisticated annotations offline, and uploaded it to the same page.

Screenshot of the DeShare file upload interface — *Source:* *https://cess.network/deshare.html*

Immediately after uploading, I landed on a page with an option to download, send via email, and receive a handy human-readable URL to share online. See for yourself here: https://d.cess.network/1785139775.png

All this was achieved in a matter of seconds without the need for registration, login, or a crypto wallet. I presume access to this tool won’t be free forever.

DeOSS

DeOSS stands for Decentralized Object Storage Service. This is where the enterprise-grade features start to show their colors. Objects refer to the basic storage units within CESS architecture, including data, metadata, and the unique hash used for file identification (FID).

Screenshot of the DeOSS product landing page — *Source:* *https://cess.network/deoss.html*

The product is quite flexible compared to several other Web3 storage protocols. For example, DeOSS employs CRUD operations, meaning users can Create, Read, Update, and even Delete files. Data immutability is one of Web3’s defining features, but sometimes you just need to get that file offline; ask Barbara Streisand.

Users can also define the speed of the retrieval process with three different options. Meanwhile, quantity doesn’t seem to be an issue, as users can stuff as much data as they want into a “bucket”, although the number of buckets is limited to 1,000 per account.

Unlike the DeShare file upload page, I wasn’t able to test out the DeOSS functions on the fly. If your project or organization is searching for a highly scalable decentralized storage solution, I suggest you dive deeper into CESS’s DeOSS documentation.

CESS Tokenomics

CESS has yet to launch their token, but we can already gather some insights about the tokenomics from their white paper. 10 billion tokens will be issued in total, with 30% set aside for storage miners, 15% for consensus miners, and 10% for cache miners.

The remaining 45% of tokens will be distributed as follows:

Initial contributors (15%)
Early investors (10%)
Community (10%)
Business cooperation (5%)
Foundation reserve (5%)

Tokenomics pie chart for the CESS token — *Source:* *CESS white paper*

Interestingly, there appears to be no allocation in place for the retrieval miners, but according to the white paper, these nodes have less stringent requirements: “Unlike storage miners, retrieval miners do not need to provide staking, submit stored data, or provide storage proofs. Unlike consensus miners, retrieval miners are not involved in transaction packaging or transaction verification.”

Pending release of the token, the information presented in the white paper is subject to change. As CESS finishes its extensive testing, we should expect to see a more complete tokenomics report.

Challenges to CESS Adoption

Whether Web3 storage, CDNs, or AI, it’s a competitive market. Filecoin, Arweave, Storj, and Verida are just a few of the names that come to mind in storage, while OGs like Theta and Fleek dominate dCDNs, and finally some of the hottest names in DePIN - io.net, Nosana, and Aethir - are the faces of dAI and compute. Some have considerably deep marketing budgets to keep their products and solutions relevant in the supercharged crypto scene. Can CESS keep pace with these Web3 competitors?

As it stands, understanding all of the various CESS terminologies can be complicated. It’s hard enough convincing people to change their Web2 mindsets, but if the path to the alternative is lined with friction, we’ll have a tough time getting them over the line. With all the acronyms used to describe their solutions, the marketing could benefit from more simplicity.

Get Started With CESS

CESS is actively looking for people to help grow their ecosystem and they have an interesting ambassador program that’s open for applications. With token incentives and various roles on offer, this is a great way for newbies to get their feet wet in DePIN.

Screenshot of the CESS Ambassador Program application page — *Source:* *https://cess.network/ambassador.html*

Those of you with a more technical background can jump straight into the CESS developer docs to learn more about the nitty-gritty details. The CESS Discord server is also a good resource to get involved with the community. CESS also carries out regular updates to its white paper, so keep an eye on their GitHub for the latest version.

And if you’d like to take a closer look into the network’s statistics, you can do that right here on DePIN Hub’s Substats explorer portal: https://depinhub.io/projects/cess/explorer

Conclusion

I believe the sweet spot for onboarding is in the Web2.5 zone, and CESS seems to be on to something thanks to its Web3 data infrastructure and Web2 performance.

Crypto can be overwhelming for newbies, but so too was the internet before people had social media accounts. If CESS can get enough partners aligned to roll out their vision, then it’s just a matter of time before adoption follows utility - at which point acronyms like PoDR² will mean as much (or as little) to a user as TCP/IP and HTML.

But what about you? What can you do to move the needle on Web3 adoption? Well, you could start by taking CESS for a test drive, upload some files, and get a feel for file sharing using Web3 infrastructure.

What’s there to lose? Until we change our ways, our data remains in the hands of the largest and most powerful companies our planet has ever seen.

A Deep Dive Into Decentralized Data With CESS Network

A Deep Dive Into Decentralized Data With CESS Network