Introduction to Optimum DeRAM

Optimum is a highly-effective (low-latency, high-throughput), scalable, and secure decentralized memory (DeRAM) solution. In essence, it introduces an atomic read/write memory designed for the Web3 environment, addressing the unique challenges posed by asynchronous communication, high node churn, decentralized decision-making, and the presence of potentially malicious nodes.

Achieving a reliable shared memory object in this setting requires careful attention to reducing latency, enhancing fault tolerance, minimizing bandwidth and storage costs, ensuring high throughput, and maintaining non-blocking, high-availability performance.

Our approach leverages Random Linear Network Codes (RLNC), selected for their flexible structure, which helps avoid costly distributed synchronization primitives. This flexibility contributes to improved durability, reduced bandwidth usage, and enhanced fault tolerance within a distributed storage framework.

Our system is implemented as a network of functionally homogeneous nodes, termed Flexnodes, which collectively provide decentralized storage and communication services. External clients can interact with any Flexnode to perform read/write operations, using this system both for data storage and as a communication socket within the network.