Is Avail part of Polygon? Is Full Node the only participant that supports the Avail Network?

Avail is a modular blockchain designed to solve the problem of data availability, which it solves by bringing data off-chain and proving that the data is actually usable. Data availability chains like Avail are an emerging area in the blockchain space. Not everyone is familiar with these concepts, but they are gaining traction as the need for developers to scale their systems increases.

In this article, we’ll list facts about Avail, including some of the most common misconceptions, to get a clearer picture of the data availability benefits that Avail offers developers.

1. Is Avail a data storage solution?

No, Avail is a blockchain that ensures data availability. It can prove that data exists on the blockchain, even if it is not currently stored on the blockchain.

Data availability is different from data storage in that it focuses on providing proof of data availability without the need for complete data retrieval, whereas data storage involves the actual storage and retrieval of the entire data.

Data availability plays a vital role in the data integrity and security of blockchain networks by ensuring that all participants can access and verify the existence of necessary data. It prevents the hiding of malicious transactions as well as potential damage to the credibility of the entire system.

Data availability is the ability of a node to download the data contained in all blocks propagated through a peer-to-peer network. It refers to the user’s confidence that the data needed to validate a block is indeed available to all network participants.

On the other hand, decentralized storage blockchains such as Arweave, IPFS, Filecoin, and Sia enable end-users to store and retrieve files directly on the blockchain. Unlike data availability chains, these storage chains focus on explicitly retrieving the complete data requested by the user.

2. Is Avail a single blockchain?

No, Avail is a modular data availability (DA) layer that offers a number of advantages over on-chain data availability. Modular blockchains often separate data availability, transactions, and consensus processing – breaking them down into more manageable components that can be developed and maintained independently.

At the same time, a single Layer 1 blockchain like Ethereum is designed to do everything, including execution, settlement, consensus, and data availability. Dealing with all the tasks at the same time can affect the efficiency of the above functions, ultimately leading to transaction bottlenecks and increased fees.

In addition, a single blockchain relies on the availability of on-chain data. Increasing network throughput to improve blockchain performance is one of the core challenges faced by a single blockchain. To increase the throughput of the overall system, you need to create larger blocks, increase block frequency, or improve block propagation to transfer more data. With a single blockchain’s attempt to scale, this reliance on on-chain data availability is inefficient and expensive.

For example, a full node on Ethereum L1 must download a copy of all the data in each block. This can be a lot of data, especially for large chunks. As a result, the availability of on-chain data can make it difficult for the blockchain to scale, as the amount of data required to process increases with the number of blocks. If the data is not available, the block will be discarded.

Avail uses erasure coding and KZG polynomial commitments to ensure that data availability is guaranteed with high confidence. By using these two features, light clients (nodes that allow users to obtain tiny data through data availability sampling) can verify data availability without having to download the entire blockchain, providing greater efficiency.

3. Is Avail a Data Availability Council (DAC)?

Avail is not a Data Availability Council (DAC). In addition to the permissioned and often centralized nature of DACs, DACs have some serious security vulnerabilities because they rely on honest majority assumptions. A DAC is a group of nodes responsible for off-chain data availability, and it is believed that the majority of nodes in the committee are honest. This assumption and dependence on a small number of nodes is risky. For example, a block producer can disrupt the entire chain by withholding transaction data, preventing users from withdrawing funds.

In addition, if a data withholding attack is attempted, the DAC will not suffer any losses. In other words, nodes have no financial incentive to act honestly.

Avial, on the other hand, is different in that it operates as an independent blockchain with its own validators, block producers, and consensus mechanisms. While DACs typically involve a limited number of participants (as few as 5), Avail plans to have hundreds of nodes working together to ensure network security.

Data availability on Avail doesn’t just rely on validators, as any light client can also contribute to keeping data available. Light clients can determine data availability on their own with random data sampling, without having to trust an honest majority. Even if the full node goes down or attempts to censor the data, the block can be rebuilt from a light node.

4. Is a full node the only participant that supports the Avail Network?

No, we have light clients, full nodes, and validators to support the Avail network.

As a modular blockchain, all network participants in Avail are redefined. In Avail, validators accept transactions and create blocks. Once a block is created, the light client is able to identify this if the data is not available. Despite their presence in Avail, full nodes play a secondary role to maintain a high level of redundancy, which is very different from the critical role played by full nodes in traditional monolithic architectures.

In a traditional monolithic blockchain, light clients have their limitations – they rely on full nodes to provide accurate data. This can be risky, as the compromised node may provide the wrong information. They may still need to download a lot of data. This can be resource-intensive and limit their availability on devices with limited computing power.

Avail’s light client is different; They can overcome the limitations of traditional light clients by using certain techniques, including data availability sampling (DAS), erasure coding, and KZG polynomial commitments.

Erasure coding ensures redundancy and resilience to data loss by replicating and distributing data in a single m x n matrix. KZG’s commitment makes efficient sampling of data possible. The light client then randomly fetches cells from the matrix and immediately verifies the availability of the data by sampling just a few cells. This eliminates the need to download the entire database, significantly reduces resource requirements, and enables light clients to verify the blockchain state, even if they don’t have the powerful hardware resources to perform the calculations. They can use lightweight devices like mobile phones and browser-based wallets.

The inclusion of light clients in everyday wallets is a future development direction with great potential. This will allow users to easily and conveniently verify the state of the blockchain without having to run a full node themselves. This will also make blockchain technology more accessible to a wider user base.

5. Is Avail part of Polygon?

Avail is no longer part of Polygon. Avail is a completely separate network. But we have a strong history with Polygon.

The Avail project was launched within Polygon Labs in late 2020 by co-founder Anurag Arjun. During that time, the Avail team began working on data availability issues.

Avail is always compatible with different types of blockchains, including standalone chains, sidechains, and off-chain scaling solutions. However, the Avail team envisions maintaining neutrality and flexibility, allowing the project to focus on a broader range of rollup solutions beyond Ethereum and Polygon.

This shift took place in March 2023. Avail is now fully committed to providing data availability for all types of rollups and blockchains, not just those specific to Polygon or Ethereum.

The Road Ahead

Avail envisions a future where blockchain technology is more scalable, flexible, and open to developers. To achieve this, Avail is developing a robust consensus and data availability layer to provide raw block space to modular chains. This will allow developers to build rollups and appchains that are more scalable, flexible, and easy to use.