2.3.3.1.2.1 Authority Node

return to Archival Node

The node_network traditionally join a network and perform tasks without anyone or anything granting permission to join the Node Network. Having permissionless access to a Node Network is one of the original guiding principles that is integral to the decentralized nature of DIDOs1) S. Nakamoto, “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System,” 24 May 2009. [Online]. Available: https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf. .

Note:Unfortunately, there are drawbacks to this approach; solutions involving a level of centralization for granting permission can provide benefits like increased speed. <todo #nick:2020-05-13>Not sure I interpreted and fixed this correctly. The way it was written made no sense. Are we saying that solutions based on consensus are inherently slower than those which centralize the permission granting process? I would think that reaching consensus is inherently a slow complicated process because who in the end declares that consensus has been reached? are the algorithms listed here used in place of a centralized authority? </todo>Consensus algorithms include delegated_proof_of_stake_dpos, delegated_byzantine, proof_of_authority_poa and others.Networks making use of proof_of_authority_poa Networks define a fixed number of Authority Nodes. The number of Nodes and associated PoA designation is voted on by the PoA community or defined by the development team. Authority Nodes are similar to Full Nodes and can create and validate blocks. All other Nodes in the Node Network run as Lightweight Nodes, depending on broadcasted data to participate in the blockchain.2) “Blockchain Nodes: An In-Depth Guide”, https://nodes.com/

Iota refers to Authority Nodes as Permanodes (definition) because they keep all transaction data even after snapshots are made (concept introduced by Iota 3) “Full node vs permanode”, Helmar, 5 January 2018, https://iota.stackexchange.com/questions/782/full-node-vs-permanode/783 )