Hyperledger Fabric is a blockchain framework implementation and one of the Hyperledger projects hosted by The Linux Foundation. Intended as a foundation for developing applications or solutions with a modular architecture, Hyperledger Fabric allows components, such as consensus and membership services, to be plug-and-play. Hyperledger Fabric leverages container technology to host smart contracts called “chaincode” that comprise the application logic of the system. Hyperledger Fabric was initially contributed by Digital Asset and IBM, as a result of the first hackathon.
We have got two primary use cases. One is on realistic marketplace tokenization. We use a tokenization marketplace. The other, the hybrid one, is a Stable coin project we're doing for a casino. It's basically a mini-private network. We have got another Hyperledger in there. We also have other technologies in play.
Therefore, while one is a stable coin project for casinos and the gambling industry, one is purely a real estate marketplace for buy-sell of real estate using tokenization.
We are a consulting and product development company. We have clients that we work for and we build for. Often, there was not an easy way to address some of the complex problems they have. For example, enabling a tokenization marketplace with cross-border transactions. That would not have been possible without a blockchain framework.
Hyperledger offers a blockchain framework and tools, that are completely secure right now. We're able to create, build, and deploy more innovative solutions in a shorter span of time, which was very difficult before.
Basically, Hyperledger Fabric has got these great built-in features. We like the distribution aspects of it.
They've got templates that make it easy for us to build. The scripting is great, and it's so nice to have pre-defined templates on hand.
There's lots of integration potential.
They have got built-in security protocols. For example, all the CS certificates.
The deployment to the cloud is very helpful.
There's a built-in test network for us so that our testing can be automated.
The scalability will be in the next version. Right now, there isn't much scalability. In version 2.3 they might have added it. We need to have this. When you have applications that require high volumes of transactions, the scalability has to be there.
They need to improve the ease of upgrading from one version to another. They don't do a good job. They tell you what is new in the new version, however, they really don't prompt you to upgrade.
From a feature and function perspective, they are geared towards a more open-source enterprise side, which is okay. They should continue that, however, at the same time, they should also start looking at building other interoperable options on top. It should work a bit more as Amazon Web Services does. They should give a base code that users can take and write on top of. There should be a marketplace around it with integrations available for things like payment gateways.
There need to be more tutorials. This would help people learn the product and make it easier to use. It would be nice if they developed a community around it so that if I had an issue, I could go online and see if someone else has a similar problem that they managed to solve. Of, if they had a piece of code, I could just take it and customize it.
I've been using the solution for more than two years.
Stability is very good with this solution. There are no bugs or glitches and it doesn't crash or freeze. There are no issues.
The scalability is something that we do have some issues with.
We have got B2B clients. From a developer's perspective, we are only four people. We do development. However, we've got six clients that are using it. We are seeing more interest in this solution, specifically in the area of real state investment tokenization that Hyperledger can build. This is being used right now for four clients.
I have not had any contact with technical support. Usually, it would be the engineers or devs that would reach out.
We also use Sawtooth.
Initially, we started using some public blockchains, and then we used Hyperledger Fabric.
The initial setup of Fabric is straightforward. It's good, actually. It's not overly complex or difficult.
We were able to deploy it in two hours.
We handled the process ourselves.
I don't exactly have visibility on what Hyperledger costs. It's bundled under our AWS bill. We are leasing other components.
We are using the latest version of the solution.
We use both public cloud and hybrid deployment models.
It's not a tool designed for every use case out there. For example, if you want to build a public NFD exchange marketplace, there are other solutions that would be better. You can use Quorum. However, if people have got experience writing some code, they could work with it in specific instances.
Smart contacts are easy to write on Hyperledger, unlike any other platform right now. That said, it's advisable, to do a quick POC before anyone finalizes any decisions. That way, a company will know if this is the right fit for them or not.
I'd rate the solution at a seven out of ten.
They are definitely contributing quite a lot to the community blockchain and they are trustworthy. That's why I'm rating it at a seven. However, they are not there yet, as it's not like other Amazon Web Services.
