Difference between revisions of "The Internet Computer for Computer Scientists"
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− | To a first approximation, the IC (Internet Computer) is a network of | + | To a first approximation, the IC (Internet Computer) is a network of |
[[wikipedia:state machine replication|replicated state machines]]. | [[wikipedia:state machine replication|replicated state machines]]. | ||
− | + | Each replicated state machine comprises a <b>subnet</b> of <b>replicas</b>. | |
+ | Subnets may communicate with one another, | ||
+ | but otherwise they operate (for the most part) independently of each other. | ||
+ | |||
+ | As in any replicated state machine, a series of <b>transactions</b> is processed. | ||
+ | A transaction may come from either an external client | ||
+ | or from another state machine in the IC. | ||
+ | The replicas in a subnet must run a [[wikipedia:Consensus_(computer_science)|consensus protocol]] to order the | ||
+ | incoming transactions, so that each replica processes the transactions in the same order. |
Revision as of 13:52, 5 October 2021
To a first approximation, the IC (Internet Computer) is a network of replicated state machines.
Each replicated state machine comprises a subnet of replicas. Subnets may communicate with one another, but otherwise they operate (for the most part) independently of each other.
As in any replicated state machine, a series of transactions is processed. A transaction may come from either an external client or from another state machine in the IC. The replicas in a subnet must run a consensus protocol to order the incoming transactions, so that each replica processes the transactions in the same order.