Merge branch 'development' of https://github.com/threefoldfoundation/www_threefold_io into development

content/blog/edge_computing/index.md

@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+---
+id: edge_computing
+title: "ThreeFold: Meeting Digital Demand at the Edge"
+image_caption: Edge Computing
+description: Learn what edge computing means and what it offers compared to centralized cloud infrastructures.
+date: 2024-04-18
+taxonomies:
+    people: [emilie_ouwerx]
+    tags: [threefold_grid, Technology, Peer_to_peer]
+    categories: [foundation]
+extra:
+    imgPath: edge_computing.png
+---
+
+Today, technological advancements are accelerating at unprecedented rates and the demand for cloud resources has boomed, with the global cloud services market estimated to reach [$2.5tn by 2031](https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2023/04/03/2639822/0/en/Cloud-Services-Market-is-Expected-to-Reach-2-5-Trillion-by-2031-Allied-Market-Research.html). This is due to a range of factors, including accelerating technological adoption in emerging markets, the rapid digitization of business, the soaring volume of data generated by loT devices, the adoption of Al and machine learning technologies, and the increasing reliance on real-time data processing.
+
+### **The Dilemma of Centralized Cloud Infrastructure**
+
+From bustling cities to the remote corners of the globe, the need for reliable, scalable, and secure cloud infrastructure is universal. But as this demand surges, it is increasingly clear that traditional centralized cloud infrastructures (mostly hyperscale data centers located in North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific) are no longer sufficient to meet the evolving needs of today's digital landscape. Not only do data centers face an exponential increase in the amount of computing power needed globally (US data center demand alone is forecasted to surge [10% annually until 2030](https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/technology-media-and-telecommunications/our-insights/investing-in-the-rising-data-center-economy)), but confronted with emerging technologies and workloads, they also face inherent latency issues, bandwidth constraints, scalability challenges, and security risks. These limitations hinder the delivery of seamless and efficient cloud services to users worldwide.
+
+<br>
+
+The energy and sustainability challenges of these emerging technologies are demonstrated through the example of ChatGPT-3. Its training alone consumed [1,287 MWh of energy and emitted over 550 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent](https://www.wired.com/story/the-generative-ai-search-race-has-a-dirty-secret/). Such energy-intensive processes are not only a concern for the environment but also highlight the strain on traditional centralized cloud infrastructure. We need a more sustainable alternative to support the soaring demand for cloud services. 
+
+### **Meeting Demand at the Edge**
+
+Edge computing emerges as a compelling solution to address the challenges facing centralized cloud infrastructure. It involves processing data closer to its source (where it is generated), typically at or near the "edge" of the network, where computing resources are deployed in proximity to the devices or sensors that generate the data. This proximity enables quicker data processing and minimizes latency, addressing the shortcomings of centralized data centers. As more devices and applications require processing and storage capabilities at the edge for improved performance, lower latency, and enhanced reliability, the demand for edge computing solutions continues to grow.
+
+<br>
+
+According to [Alexandra Rotaru](https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS50386323), senior research analyst at the International Data Corporation (IDC), edge computing is “one of the most resilient and attractive areas of investments, growing globally at a double-digit rate over the next five years”, underscoring its growing significance in meeting the evolving computational needs of modern enterprises and service providers. People are clearly looking for alternatives to the centralized data model with [Gartner](https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/what-edge-computing-means-for-infrastructure-and-operations-leaders) predicting that by 2025, 75% of enterprise-generated data will be processed and created outside of traditional centralized clouds and data centers. 
+
+### **Hello ThreeFold**
+
+ThreeFold, a decentralized autonomous cloud infrastructure, does edge computing by definition. Our cloud is built from 3Nodes, hardware deployed by people locally, allowing data to be processed and stored closer to the source. Decentralized cloud infrastructure is a distributed network of computing resources that are not controlled by a single centralized authority. Instead, these resources are spread across a network of geographically dispersed nodes and managed collectively through decentralized protocols and technologies. As the largest and most advanced decentralized autonomous cloud network in the world, ThreeFold is a pivotal player in meeting growing global demand at the edge.
+
+<br>
+
+![Image](threefold_grid.png#mx-auto)
+
+<br>
+
+Let's dive deeper into why decentralized cloud infrastructure and edge computing offer a compelling solution to the challenges posed by centralized cloud infrastructure: 
+
+<br>
+
+- **Reduced Latency**: By processing data closer to where it is generated, edge computing dramatically reduces latency, ensuring that applications and services respond swiftly to user inputs. Whether it's streaming high-definition video, conducting real-time financial transactions, facilitating real-time interactions in VR and AR settings or controlling IoT devices, minimizing latency is essential for delivering a seamless user experience without delays.
+
+- **Increased Energy Efficiency**: Processing data closer to the source minimizes the energy expended in transmitting data over long distances. Read more about ThreeFold’s energy efficiency [here](https://www.threefold.io/blog/energy-efficiency-explained/).
+
+- **Improved Bandwidth Efficiency**: Edge computing optimizes bandwidth usage by minimizing the need to transmit data over long distances to centralized data centers. This conserves network resources, cuts costs and enables more efficient data transfer, particularly in regions with limited connectivity or bandwidth constraints.
+
+- **Enhanced Scalability**: As devices multiply, centralized data centers often face data overload. Edge computing resolves this by distributing processing tasks closer to the data source, which improves scalability and ensures efficient handling of increasing workloads.
+
+- **Data Privacy and Security**: Data is dispersed across a distributed network of nodes rather than being stored within a single centralized location. This distributed approach reduces the risk of data breaches, unauthorized access, and single points of failure, bolstering the integrity and confidentiality of sensitive information.
+
+- **Support for Real-Time Applications and Emerging Workloads**: Edge computing enables the seamless deployment of real-time applications and services, including immersive virtual environments (metaverse), AI-driven analytics, and IoT ecosystems. 
+
+<br>
+
+![Image](why_decentralized_cloud.png#mx-auto)
+
+<br>
+
+As technology evolves, traditional centralized clouds reveal significant limitations. Decentralized, edge-centric approaches to cloud computing are essential to address the ever-growing global demand for cloud resources and to adapt to the evolving needs of businesses, consumers and communities worldwide. With ThreeFold at the forefront, the future of cloud computing is decentralized, distributed, and transformative. 

content/blog/tf_ecosystem_comes_alive/index.md

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+---
+id: tf_ecosystem_comes_alive
+title: How the ThreeFold Ecosystem Comes Alive
+image_caption: ThreeFold Ecosystem
+description: As we enter the next phase of ThreeFold, the project will move into an even greater level of decentralization, while layers are introduced to make us – and our grid – more resilient and reliable.
+date: 2024-04-15
+taxonomies:
+    people: [sam_taggart]
+    tags: [community, why, peer_to_peer]
+    categories: [foundation]
+extra:
+    imgPath: tf_ecosystem_comes_alive.png
+---
+
+Collaborative. Self-organizing. Interconnected. Dynamic. Diverse. Resilient. Sustainable.
+
+<br/>
+
+These are some of the words that come to mind when thinking about nature and natural systems. For billions of years, nature has been showing us the way. From the human body to rainforests to coral reefs, decentralized systems are all around us – and even inside us – giving examples of the power of collective action, the resilience of distributed networks, and the wisdom inherent in shared decision-making and autonomy.
+
+<br/>
+
+ThreeFold has always acted in a decentralized way – through the creation of public community chats and forums, by hosting regular community calls, through Grid Enhancement Proposals / DAO votes, and more. Different entities participate in the project – TF9 (previously TF Tech) creates the technology, TF DMCC advocates for and does day-to-day management of the TF Grid, the farmers add capacity, grid users deploy on that capacity, token holders support the project through buying the token, and so on.
+
+<br/>
+
+As we enter the next phase of ThreeFold, the project will move into an even greater level of decentralization, where each role is clearly defined and benefits the greater whole, while we introduce layers to make us – and our grid – more resilient and reliable.
+
+<br/>
+
+So, what are these roles? How does it all come alive?
+
+<br/>
+
+- **Farmers**, or Cloud Service Providers, provide the infrastructural foundation of the ecosystem. Without the farmers, there is no ThreeFold.
+
+- **Network Bridgers**, or Providers, bridge the new and the old. They ensure that ThreeFold can communicate with the existing Internet in a safe and secure manner – and provide bandwidth to our grid.
+
+- **Farming Pools** exist to support farmers in being more effective, to improve uptime, and to deliver a service level to the community. This means more reliability for all.
+
+- **Node Suppliers** build and sell nodes and provide an adequate level of service and support.
+
+- **Guardians** protect the network, keep all relevant services up and running, validating the soundness of the technology being used.
+
+- **TF Dubai** is the original company out of which the ThreeFold project began and is now developing commercial services on top of the grid. TF Dubai is a big sponsor of the grid and will continue to be. It wishes to hand off the day-to-day management to the ThreeFold cooperative, and the digital tools have been set up to do so, including the forum, websites, manuals, and web management tools.
+
+- **[TF9](https://tf9.io)**, previously TF Tech, is a Belgium-based company playing a key role in the ecosystem. They have been developing the technology behind the TF Grid and are 100% committed to keeping it open-source. TF9 will be licensing the software to organizations who need commercial support and customizations.
+
+- The **ThreeFold Cooperative** is our governance layer; it gives everyone in the ecosystem a voice and an environment from which to operate.
+
+- **OurWorld Digital Free Zone**, which is in the process of being created in Zanzibar, allows the ecosystem to structure digital assets and some of our future digital projects.
+
+<br/>
+
+But it does not stop there. More **solution and technology providers** will create and provide services and open-source technologies that can be used on top of or as part of the grid. **DePIN partners** are coming, to launch us into that space. And **ThreeFold Chapters** will come alive to promote and grow the ecosystem organically, with local context, driving maximum reach and adoption of our project.
+
+<br/>
+
+![ThreeFold Ecosystem](./tf_ecosystem.png)
+
+<br/>
+
+It is easy to see that each of these roles plays a crucial element in the larger ThreeFold ecosystem, establishing a type of equilibrium and resilience that can be found in natural systems as well. All participants with their own unique purposes – self-organizing, interconnected, collaborating towards a common goal. Together, let us strive to emulate the harmony of natural systems as we move into this next phase of ThreeFold.
+
+<br/>
+
+There are many ways to get involved:
+
+<br/>
+
+- Join our [main chat](https://t.me/threefold), talk to humans
+- [Learn](https://manual.grid.tf/) about expanding the grid or deploying on top of it
+- [Buy and hold](https://manual.grid.tf/documentation/threefold_token/buy_sell_tft/buy_sell_tft.html) the token to provide fuel to the ecosystem
+- [Stay tuned](https://t.me/threefoldnews) for news, updates, and community calls
+- Take part in the [feedback](https://forum.threefold.io/t/feedback-on-our-tfgrid-3-14/4276) about the next steps for ThreeFold
+
+<br/>
+
+*"Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better." - Albert Einstein*

content/blog/three_layers/index.md

@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ extra:
     isFeatured: true
 ---
 
-Just as the Earth is made up of layers—from the crust to the core — so too is the Internet, with three key layers: Compute & Storage, Network, and Applications. Distinguishing these layers helps us to understand how digital information is currently processed, stored, and accessed across the globe and how ThreeFold technology can transform this model. ThreeFold can be likened to tectonic forces, reshaping the digital landscape by introducing improved ways for these layers to interact. Let’s break down these three layers, their current challenges, and ThreeFold’s approach to each of them.  
+Just as the Earth is made up of layers—from the crust to the core — so too is the Internet, with three key layers: compute & storage, network, and applications. Distinguishing these layers helps us to understand how digital information is currently processed, stored, and accessed across the globe and how ThreeFold technology can transform this model. ThreeFold can be likened to tectonic forces, reshaping the digital landscape by introducing improved ways for these layers to interact. Let’s break down these three layers, their current challenges, and ThreeFold’s approach to each of them.  
 
 ### **Compute & Storage**
 
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ A key problem with the current compute & storage layer lies in its centralized s
 
 <br>
 
-The concentration of the Compute & Storage within data centers primarily located in Europe, North America, or China raises significant concerns. This geographical bias in internet infrastructure keeps data, jobs, and economic benefits centralized in certain regions, putting developing areas at a disadvantage and raising concerns around data sovereignty and autonomy.
+The concentration of the compute & storage within data centers primarily located in Europe, North America, or China raises significant concerns. This geographical bias in Internet infrastructure keeps data, jobs, and economic benefits centralized in certain regions, putting developing areas at a disadvantage and raising concerns around data sovereignty and autonomy.
 
 <br>
 
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ Let's revisit the scenario of a video call between two individuals in Zanzibar.
 
 <br>
 
-![Image](img/threefold_call.jpeg#mx-auto)
+![Image](img/threefold_call.png#mx-auto)
 
 <br>
 
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ Let's revisit the scenario of a video call between two individuals in Zanzibar.
 
 <br>
 
-The purpose of the network layer of the Internet is to send data packets from their source (point A) to their destination (point B) across multiple networks. Data packets are small pieces of information which include the data being sent and details like where it's coming from and where it's going. They can be thought of as small parcels of data that travel through the internet. These parcels can take different paths to reach their destination and once they arrive they are put back together to form the original data.
+The purpose of the network layer of the Internet is to send data packets from their source (point A) to their destination (point B) across multiple networks. Data packets are small pieces of information which include the data being sent and details like where it's coming from and where it's going. They can be thought of as small parcels of data that travel through the Internet. These parcels can take different paths to reach their destination and once they arrive they are put back together to form the original data.
 
 <br>
 
@@ -147,6 +147,6 @@ ThreeFold delivers a decentralized and user-centric approach to the application
 
 ### **Conclusion**
 
-Understanding the internet’s three layers is key to grasping the current digital landscape and envisioning the transformative potential of ThreeFold's technology. Just as tectonic forces reshape our physical world, ThreeFold is disrupting the layers of the digital world. By decentralizing compute & storage, ThreeFold eliminates the vulnerabilities in centralized models, fostering efficiency and security. Through Mycelium, ThreeFold is rewriting the rules of connectivity, ensuring resilience and security. At the application layer, ThreeFold empowers users, shifting the paradigm to user empowerment. It's a new dawn for the internet, one where connectivity is inclusive, efficient, and equitable, and ThreeFold is leading the charge. Let’s seize the opportunity to shape an internet that thrives locally, serves globally, and empowers universally.
+Understanding the Internet’s three layers is key to grasping the current digital landscape and envisioning the transformative potential of ThreeFold's technology. Just as tectonic forces reshape our physical world, ThreeFold is disrupting the layers of the digital world. By decentralizing compute & storage, ThreeFold eliminates the vulnerabilities in centralized models, fostering efficiency and security. Through Mycelium, ThreeFold is rewriting the rules of connectivity, ensuring resilience and security. At the application layer, ThreeFold empowers users, shifting the paradigm to user empowerment. It's a new dawn for the Internet, one where connectivity is inclusive, efficient, and equitable, and ThreeFold is leading the charge. Let’s seize the opportunity to shape an Internet that thrives locally, serves globally, and empowers universally.
 
 <br>