Betting on SCION, How Does Sui Take Performance One Step Further?
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Betting on SCION, How Does Sui Take Performance One Step Further?
Sui has become the first L1 project to run SCION.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: BL, Chief Technology Officer of STUDIO MIRAI
Translation: Alex Liu, Foresight News
Sui has become the first Layer 1 project to run SCION (now on testnet). But what exactly is SCION? And what is Sui building?
Let's start by discussing the internet—what it is and how it currently works.
The internet consists of thousands of networks called Autonomous Systems (AS). ASes are managed by ISPs, enterprises, government entities, universities, and other large organizations.
When a client sends a request over the internet—for example, submitting a Sui transaction—that request is routed to a destination server (such as an RPC node).
But how does this request actually reach the RPC node?
Currently, the internet uses a protocol called BGP (Border Gateway Protocol) to route traffic. Much like making several stops during an off-road journey, data packets traveling across the internet also make multiple stops before reaching their destination. These stops are commonly referred to as "hops."
However, unlike an off-road trip with a predetermined route, data packets routed via BGP do not follow a known path! The only information available is the destination IP; the "next hop" is dynamically determined at each "current hop." Essentially, BGP routing is like navigating to the first rest stop, then asking that stop for directions to the next one. This model presents two key problems:
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The first rest stop might not provide the fastest route to the next one.
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If traffic congestion occurs between rest stops, there’s no easy way to switch routes because alternative paths aren’t known in advance.
SCION aims to solve these (and other) issues while optimizing network latency, reliability, and security.
To achieve this, SCION organizes groups of ASes into ISDs (Isolation Domains). Think of an ISD as a club formed by a group of AS operators. Within this club, participating ASes commit to following a common set of security and performance policies designed to optimize traffic routing within their collective networks.
Recall that traffic routed via BGP cannot control its path through different ASes—the path is dynamically determined on a "hop-by-hop" basis. This is where SCION-enabled networks differ!
In a SCION-enabled network, clients can pre-specify network routes—a concept known as "path-aware networking." This enables traffic to be directed along the most optimal routes. SCION also supports backup routes and even allows load balancing traffic across multiple routes simultaneously!
Returning to the off-road driving analogy, with SCION you now know exactly which route to take without needing to ask every rest stop along the way. Moreover, if your primary route becomes congested (e.g., due to a traffic accident), you can seamlessly fall back to a secondary pre-planned route.
SCION is an ambitious undertaking, and Sui validators, RPC nodes, and surrounding infrastructure will all benefit!
For instance, benefits include:
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Optimized latency for validator-to-validator and RPC-to-validator connections.
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Pre-planned backup paths to bypass DDoS attacks or network congestion.
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Potential for prioritized routing of certain types of traffic.
With SCION support, Sui truly possesses the most powerful Web3 stack in the world...
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zkLogin for authentication.
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Objects to model lifecycles within applications.
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Walrus for blob storage bound to Sui objects.
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SCION for networking.
Sui is making waves.
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