What Is Hyperledger: A Comprehensive Guide To Blockchain Technology

Hyperledger, an initiative by the Linux Foundation, aims to standardize and democratize blockchain technology for businesses. While Ethereum and Bitcoin have received extensive media coverage, Hyperledger has quietly been making significant contributions to the blockchain development landscape.

By leveraging cross-industry expertise, Hyperledger enables organizations to create customized blockchain applications that effectively address their specific business requirements. It focuses on streamlining the lives of blockchain developers and helping companies solve problems efficiently.

In this blog post, we will delve into what is hyperledger in blockchain, understanding its significance, features, and the impact it has on various industries.

What Is Hyper Ledger: An Overview of the Open-Source Blockchain Project

Hyperledger, an open-source project founded by the Linux Foundation, provides a diverse suite of projects and frameworks for businesses and developers to build blockchain networks and applications.

Its main objective is to facilitate collaboration among enterprises, developers, and businesses in the realm of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT).

• Growing Support and Industry Backing: Hyperledger has garnered support from more than 250 organizations, including tech giants like IBM, Airbus, Samsung, and financial institutions such as American Express and JP Morgan. By intentionally avoiding the creation of a specific cryptocurrency, Hyperledger focuses on the development of industrial blockchain applications while sidestepping the political challenges associated with maintaining a global currency.

• The Hyperledger Ecosystem: The Hyperledger project boasts over 28,000 participants and 3.6 million lines of code. It encompasses ten projects, including six tools and six frameworks, offering substantial opportunities for blockchain development. These projects can be categorized into two primary sections: modular tools and modular frameworks.

• Hyperledger Projects and Tools: With a clear understanding of Hyperledger’s purpose, it is essential to delve into the various types of projects and tools contributing to blockchain development within the Hyperledger ecosystem.

Hyperledger Projects

Hyperledger follows an umbrella strategy, incubating smart contract engines, various business blockchain technologies, libraries and distributed ledger frameworks. The project emphasizes reusability and innovation in distributed ledger components.

Hyperledger Burrow: A Modular Blockchain Client for Smart Contracts

Hyperledger Burrow, which is hosted by the Linux Foundation, provides a modular blockchain client explicitly created to construct smart contract machines that are compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) specification.

Burrow stands out for its exceptional performance in handling high transaction throughput and achieving transaction finality, all thanks to its proof of stake consensus engine. The key components of Burrow include:

• Consensus Engine: Burrow employs the Byzantine Fault-Tolerant Tendermint Protocol to manage transaction ordering and execution, ensuring a high throughput and safeguarding the blockchain against potential forks.
• Smart Contract Application: Transactions undergo validation based on the application state defined by the consensus engine. This state includes the validator set, name registry, and accounts. Burrow accounts can correspond to a public-private key pair or incorporate smart contract code, enabling execution on a permissioned virtual machine.
• Application Blockchain Interface (ABCI): The Application Blockchain Interface facilitates the interaction between smart contract applications and the consensus engine.
• Application Binary Interface (ABI): Burrow’s tools enable the formulation of transactions in a binary format for efficient processing by blockchain nodes. They also support deployment, compilation, and linking of smart contracts written in Solidity, allowing execution of transactions for calling smart contracts on the chain.
• API Gateway: Burrow provides JSON-RPC and REST endpoints, which enable seamless communication with the application state and the blockchain network. These endpoints allow users to query the most recent application state and broadcast transactions effortlessly.

Hyperledger Indy: Secure and Decentralized Identity Solutions

Hyperledger Indy is a distributed ledger tailored for decentralized identity management. It provides libraries, reusable components, and tools for creating digital identities on the blockchain.

Hyperledger Indy’s primary goal is to empower users by granting them control over their data and safeguarding identifiable information from privacy breaches and hacking. Notably, the private data of users is not stored directly on the Hyperledger Indy ledger.

Instead of storing private data directly, Hyperledger Indy utilizes the blockchain to facilitate third-party validation of private credentials issued by trusted organizations.

This process is achieved through Redundant Byzantine Fault Tolerance (RBFT), ensuring a robust and trustworthy system for ordering and validation within Hyperledger Indy.

Hyperledger Fabric: A Modular Distributed Ledger Platform

Under the umbrella of Hyperledger, Hyperledger Fabric stands out as a distributed ledger platform known for its resiliency, scalability, flexibility, and confidentiality. With a modular architecture, it offers pluggable implementations of various components, enabling it to address complexities within the economic ecosystem.

Hyperledger Fabric Architecture:

Hyperledger Fabric differs from open, permissionless systems by enrolling members through a trusted membership service provider, ensuring a trusted network. Its ledger subsystem consists of two essential components:

• The World State: This component represents the state of the ledger at a specific point in time.
• The Transaction Log: It records all transactions that have contributed to the current state of the world.

Together, these components form the ledger, comprising the transaction log history and the world state database.

Smart contracts in Hyperledger Fabric, known as chaincode, are invoked when applications interact with the ledger. Chaincodes can be written in Go and Node programming languages, providing flexibility for developers.

Recognizing the need for privacy in business-to-business (B2B) networks where information-sharing sensitivity is crucial, Hyperledger Fabric supports systems with stringent privacy requirements.

Hyperledger Fabric allows network initiators to select a consensus algorithm that best fits the relationship between the network participants, ensuring agreement on the shared ledger.

Hyperledger Iroha: Building Secure and Trusted Blockchain Applications

Hyperledger Iroha, a Linux Foundation-hosted project, enables the development of reliable blockchain applications using the Byzantine Fault-Tolerant Consensus algorithm. It is ideal for managing identity, serialized data, and digital assets like central bank currencies and national IDs.

Unlike other platforms, Iroha operates with a permissioned system, granting access only to authorized participants. It offers precise data control through permissioned queries and facilitates asset management through prebuilt commands.

By employing the Byzantine Fault-Tolerant Algorithm, Iroha ensures secure, high-performance transactions. Peers in the network serve as validation nodes, distributing partially-signed transactions through the gossip protocol and storing blocks in files. The ledger state is maintained in a PostgreSQL database.

Hyperledger Sawtooth: A Secure and Flexible Enterprise Blockchain Platform

Hyperledger Sawtooth is an enterprise blockchain platform that prioritizes the safety of smart contracts while maintaining decentralization. It offers flexible development by isolating the core system from the application domain, enabling developers to specify business rules in their preferred programming language.

Modularity is a key feature, allowing customization of permissions, transaction rules, and consensus algorithms to meet specific business needs. Custom transaction processors can be defined, and Software Development Kits (SDKs) in various languages simplify the creation of new contract languages.

Sawtooth’s advanced parallel scheduler ensures parallel transaction execution, enhancing performance and preventing double-spending. Additionally, Sawtooth supports Ethereum Contract Compatibility, enabling the deployment of Ethereum Virtual Machine smart contracts.

The platform allows administrators to choose and modify consensus algorithms dynamically, providing flexibility for blockchain operation. Hyperledger Sawtooth provides a versatile and secure solution for building enterprise blockchain networks and applications.

Supported Consensus Implementations

Hyperledger Sawtooth currently supports the following consensus implementations:

• Proof of Elapsed Time (PoET): A production-grade consensus algorithm that supports large network populations. Provides the benefits of Nakamoto-style consensus without the power consumption drawbacks of Proof of Work.
• Dev Mode: A random-leader algorithm used for testing and development purposes.
• PoET Simulator: Enables PoET-type consensus on any hardware, including virtualized cloud environments.

Built-in Transaction Families

Hyperledger Sawtooth implements transaction families for specific use cases, including:

• IntegerKey: Designed for testing deployed integers within the blockchain.
• Identity: Manages on-chain permissioning for validator and transactor keys, simplifying identity management for public key lists.
• Settings: Offers a reference implementation to store on-chain configuration settings, enhancing network reconfigurability.

By combining security, flexibility, and modularity, Hyperledger Sawtooth provides a robust foundation for building enterprise-grade blockchain solutions that can be tailored to meet the diverse needs of organizations.

Hyperledger Grid: Accelerating Cross-Industry Supply Chain Solutions

Hyperledger Grid, an initiative by the Hyperledger community, aims to expedite the development of cross-industry supply chain solutions. It provides reference implementations of supply chain-focused data types, smart contracts, and data models.

Grid functions as an ecosystem of frameworks, libraries, and technologies, allowing developers to choose components based on their market model. By leveraging industry best practices and open standards, Grid integrates seamlessly with existing supply chain processes.

With its shared capabilities, Hyperledger Grid enhances efficiency, transparency, and trust in the supply chain domain, unlocking the potential of distributed ledgers for various industries.

Hyperledger Tools: Enabling Blockchain Development and Deployment

Hyperledger Tools encompass a suite of powerful software tools and libraries designed to streamline and support various aspects of blockchain development and deployment. These tools empower developers with the necessary resources to build robust and efficient blockchain applications.

Hyperledger Tools empower developers with efficient solutions for blockchain development and deployment, fostering innovation and scalability in the world of distributed ledger technology.

Hyperledger Caliper

Hyperledger Caliper, hosted by the Linux Foundation, is a benchmarking tool for assessing the performance of specific blockchain implementations. It provides predefined use cases and generates reports that include performance factors such as transaction latency, resource utilization, and transactions per second (TPS).

The adaptability of Caliper is highlighted by its integration capability with multiple blockchain solutions through an adaption layer.

Hyperledger Cello

Hyperledger Cello is a toolkit that introduces an on-demand “as-a-service” deployment model to the blockchain ecosystem. By working on top of various infrastructures such as baremetal, container platforms, and virtual machines, Cello reduces the effort required to create, maintain, and terminate blockchains.

It offers a multi-tenant chain service, enhancing the ease of blockchain deployment.

Hyperledger Explorer

Hyperledger platform was developed by the Linux Foundation, is a blockchain module designed for creating user-driven web applications. It enables users to view, deploy, invoke, and query blocks, network information, transactions, and other relevant data stored in the ledger.

With its user-friendly interface, Explorer facilitates easy interaction with the blockchain, making it accessible to a wider audience.

Hyperledger Composer

Hyperledger Composer is an open development framework and toolset that streamlines the development and deployment of blockchain applications and smart contracts. Leveraging tools such as node.js, CLI, npm, and other editors, Composer allows for rapid development and deployment of blockchain applications.

It provides business-focused abstractions, sample apps, and a simplified DevOps process, enabling the creation of robust blockchain solutions with reduced development time.

Hyperledger Quilt

Hyperledger Quilt is a business blockchain tool that enhances interoperability between ledger systems through the implementation of the Interledger protocol (ILP). ILP facilitates value transfer across distributed and non-distributed ledgers, enabling atomic swaps between different account namespaces.

The Linux Foundation enhances the Hyperledger Projects by integrating Quilt, providing implementations of Interledger in both JavaScript and Java languages.

Hyperledger Ursa

Hyperledger Ursa serves as a collaborative cryptographic library, encouraging code reuse and bolstering security measures. It comprises sub-projects like the Base-Crypto Library, facilitating the implementation of diverse signature schemes through modularity.

Furthermore, the Z-Mix project provides a reliable implementation for constructing zero-knowledge proofs with cryptographic building blocks. Hyperledger Ursa is employed by developers in charge of security aspects for Hyperledger Indy, Sawtooth, and Fabric, guaranteeing secure blockchain solutions.

Real Examples of Applications Built on Hyperledger Projects

Real-world applications built on Hyperledger Projects showcase the platform’s versatility and practicality. Examples include supply chain management solutions, digital identity systems, healthcare data sharing platforms, and cross-border payment networks, demonstrating the potential of blockchain technology across diverse industries.

1. HealthVerity

HealthVerity is a cloud-based SaaS application built on Hyperledger Fabric. It helps organizations manage consent rights and compliance with privacy laws such as HIPAA and GDPR. The app is currently in production.

2. AID

AID is a blockchain-based identity and donation platform that ensures transparency and traceability in charity and remittances. It utilizes Hyperledger Fabric and Composer and is currently in the pilot phase.

3. DigiPharm

DigiPharm uses blockchain and smart contracts on the Hyperledger Fabric network for value-based payments in healthcare. It also utilizes Hyperledger Indy for data management. The project is currently in the pilot phase.

4. IBM

IBM is developing an application for the Postal Savings Bank of China using Hyperledger Fabric, Node.js, and Golang. The aim is to enhance banking services, and the project is in production.

5. TE-Food

TE-Food is a blockchain-based food traceability ecosystem that ensures transparency and trust in the food supply chain. It is currently in production.

These applications showcase the diverse applications of Hyperledger Projects, ranging from consent management and identity verification to healthcare payments and food traceability.

Is A Hyperledger Tool That Provides Interoperability Between Ledger Systems?

Yes, there is a Hyperledger tool that provides interoperability between ledger systems. It is called Hyperledger Cactus.

Hyperledger Cactus is a blockchain integration framework within the Hyperledger greenhouse project. It aims to facilitate interoperability between different blockchain networks or ledger systems. It provides a pluggable architecture that allows developers to connect various blockchain platforms and achieve cross-chain transactions.

With Hyperledger Cactus, it becomes possible to interact and transact between different blockchain networks, enabling interoperability and seamless communication between disparate ledgers. This tool is designed to address the challenges of siloed blockchain networks and promote collaboration and integration across different blockchain ecosystems.

Final Word

Our team at Webisoft developed TraceRX, a blockchain-based supply chain solution, to revolutionize humanitarian aid distribution. It tackles crucial issues of theft, recalls, and inventory management.

TraceRX enables stakeholders such as procurement managers, pharma vendors, and field managers to trace drugs from the warehouse to the last mile. Leveraging cloud computing and blockchain’s security, it empowers NGOs and aid organizations to track inventory seamlessly.

Unlike many token-centric blockchain projects, Hyperledger stands out for its potential in developing scalable industrial and non-monetary applications. Furthermore, the support of reputable IT companies like IBM and Linux adds credibility to Hyperledger projects.