The New Possibilities of Blockchain Websites: Exploring the World of Decentralization

A recent incident has prompted a reevaluation of traditional domain access services. We have always considered domain resolution services to be very reliable, yet issues have arisen. This inevitably leads one to ponder whether decentralized solutions could become a viable alternative worth exploring.

Deploying web pages on the Blockchain may have the following advantages:

1. Decentralization: All modifications require consensus to proceed, and no single entity can act unilaterally.

2. No certificate required: The blockchain itself uses encryption technology, and no additional configuration of certificates is necessary.

When I first encountered the domain name solution of a certain Blockchain platform, I thought it was just an interesting concept with limited practicality, as traditional access methods are already quite stable and widespread. However, looking back now, this solution may indeed have its unique application scenarios that are worth exploring in depth.

Creating a website on the Blockchain

This article will attempt to deploy a website on a certain Blockchain platform and make it accessible via a browser. The entire process is divided into three steps: 1. Purchase a domain name; 2. Prepare the front-end page; 3. Bind the page to the domain name.

The concept of domain names in Blockchain is similar to traditional internet domain names, both providing an easy-to-remember alias for complex addresses. In Blockchain, it represents the user's address, while in traditional internet it corresponds to the server's IP address.

Purchase Domain Name

Taking a certain Blockchain platform as an example, domain names can be purchased through the official website, priced in the platform's native token. Similar to traditional domain names, the shorter the domain name, the higher the price, with prices ranging from 1 to 100 tokens.

If a certain domain name has not yet been registered, you can place a bid at a lower price and then enter the auction countdown. Before the countdown ends, anyone can participate in the bidding. The successfully acquired domain name will be stored in the user's wallet in the form of an NFT and can be traded. The validity of the domain name is 1 year, and it will be reclaimed after expiration.

In short, the ways to acquire a domain name include official website auctions and transactions between users.

Prepare the front-end page

This step requires preparing a front-end page for display. To simplify the process, this article only prepares an HTML file and uses nginx to expose the page. Of course, a cloud server is also needed to run the front-end page. This step is similar to the deployment of traditional front-end applications.

Bind the page to the Blockchain domain name

After obtaining a Blockchain domain name, you can bind your ANDL address on the official website. You can also use the binding tool provided by the platform and follow the official guide to operate.

After the binding is complete, it is necessary to start a listening port on the server to receive HTTP requests and forward them as UDP. You can use the official tool to start with the following command:

rldp-http-proxy/rldp-http-proxy -p 8080 -c 3333 -C global.config.json

Among them, 8080 is the TCP port used for listening to incoming HTTP queries, and 3333 is the UDP port used for RLDP and ANDL activities. global.config.json is the global configuration file, which can be downloaded from official channels.

Access Blockchain Domain Names

Directly entering a blockchain domain name in the browser cannot be accessed, as the browser does not know how to resolve such domain names. Therefore, some additional steps are needed.

Blockchain Domain Name Request Process

When requesting a blockchain domain name, the corresponding ANDL address will first be queried on the chain, similar to the DNS querying process of the traditional internet. The ANDL address can be understood as the IP address in the blockchain world, automatically generated when deploying a website.

Then, the request will be forwarded to the corresponding machine based on the ANDL address, returning the appropriate page. The whole process is similar to traditional internet, with the main difference being the method of querying address and domain name mapping.

Accessing the page through a proxy

The most recommended way is to use the proxy tool provided by the official. After downloading, installing, and starting it, a proxy port will be opened locally, and then you will be able to access the Blockchain domain.

Summary of Use

Currently, there are several issues encountered during usage:

1. There are requirements for the operating environment. The system needs to support a newer version of glibc, and the machine should be checked for compliance before deployment.

2. The documentation is not clear enough. It may be due to the lack of demand, resulting in a brief documentation that requires self-exploration. The Chinese documentation is also not updated in a timely manner.

3. The access speed is relatively slow. Compared to traditional websites, the access speed lags behind, and there is still a lot of room for improvement in the future.

4. Lack of wallet support. The official provides a simple embedded browser page that can be accessed without installing a proxy. However, mainstream wallets currently mark it as a potentially risky website.

Overall, the current user experience is average, and there are many areas that need improvement. However, this direction is very innovative and worth trying and paying attention to.