AWS joins the blockchain party
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Amazon Web Services announced two cloud-based services for organizations that want to create and manage scalable blockchain networks.
Amazon Web Services announced two cloud-based services for organizations that want to create and manage scalable blockchain networks.
While both use distributed ledger technology, one service -- Amazon Quantum Ledger Database (QLDB) -- uses a trusted central authority, while the other -- Amazon Managed Blockchain -- allows multiple parties to execute transactions without a trusted, central authority.
The company said both services, which were released at the AWS re:Invent conference in Las Vegas, help manage business transactions that require full auditability.
"Amazon QLDB is a transparent, immutable, and cryptographically verifiable ledger for applications that need a central, trusted authority to provide a permanent and complete record of transactions (for example, supply chain, financial, manufacturing, insurance, and HR)," the company said. "For customers who want to build applications where multiple parties can execute transactions without the need for a trusted, central authority, Amazon Managed Blockchain makes it easy to create and manage scalable blockchain networks using the popular, open source Ethereum and Hyperledger Fabric frameworks."
The QLDB provides a SQL-like API that may be familiar to data developers, without the need to manage or configure servers. Like many other AWS services, it scales automatically to meet application demand and incurs costs only for what resources are used. Amazon Managed Blockchain, on the other hand,"manages your certificates, lets you easily invite new members to join the network, and tracks operational metrics such as usage of compute, memory, and storage resources," AWS said. "In addition, Managed Blockchain can replicate an immutable copy of your blockchain network activity into Amazon Quantum Ledger Database (QLDB), a fully managed ledger database. This allows you to easily analyze the network activity outside the network and gain insights into trends."
Both QLDB and Amazon Managed Blockchain are available in preview.
This article was first posted on AWSinsider, a sibling site to GCN.
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