Whitepaper

Powering a distributed GPU-based compute infrastructure for dynamic enterprise use cases requires a new ecosystem with aligned incentives.

Abstract

Aethir is a cloud computing infrastructure platform that revolutionizes the ownership, distribution, and utilization paradigms of enterprise-grade graphical processing units (GPUs). By moving away from traditional centralized models, Aethir has deployed a scalable and competitive framework for sharing distributed computational resources, catering to enterprise applications and clientele across various industries and regions.

At its core, Aethir optimizes GPU utilization for compute-intensive domains and applications like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and Cloud Gaming – amongst several others. This is achieved through a two-pronged approach:

Resource Pooling: Owners can contribute their underutilized GPUs to Aethir's network, effectively forming a collective pool of potent computing resources. This enables global GPU distribution at significantly reduced costs, democratizing access to advanced computational power.
Decentralized Ownership: Aethir's model transcends the limitations of traditional ownership structures by enabling distributed resource possession. This fosters a more equitable and open technological landscape, dismantling barriers to entry for new consumers, opening new economic opportunities, and contributing to a globally diverse and interconnected digital ecosystem.

Aethir offers a cloud platform architected with a distributed GPU framework specifically designed to address the demanding processing requirements of industries like gaming, AI model training and inference. This architecture seamlessly integrates disparate GPU clusters into a unified network, demonstrably increasing cluster sizes and improving reliability and infrastructure resilience. This renders Aethir ideal for uniting geographically dispersed resources to tackle large-scale AI workloads, reducing global reliance on incumbent cloud leaders.

Aethir's commitment to decentralization extends beyond mere resource ownership. Its geographically distributed infrastructure transcends the inherent limitations of centralized solutions, ensuring broader accessibility and laying the groundwork for the necessary evolution and maturation of the GPU cloud.

In essence, Aethir represents a paradigm shift in the future of computing resource allocation. Its core tenets – decentralized ownership, collaborative cross-cluster operations, and scalable regional deployments – pave the way for a new wave of economic and technological advancement. Aethir is not merely transforming the cloud computing landscape; it is actively shaping a more interconnected, efficient, and innovation-driven, global GPU cloud economy.

A critical characteristic of Aethir's DCI is the focus on repurposing existing, idle resources, rather than requiring participants to purchase new hardware. Underutilized GPU capacity estimates range from 50- 75%, indicating a vast reservoir of untapped digital resources that could be monetized. Aethir's DCI aims to tap into this abundance of idle resources by targeting small to medium-sized data centers and enterprises.

Problem

In the rapidly evolving landscape of cloud computing, several systemic issues have emerged, challenging the traditional paradigms of resource utilization, access, and performance. By addressing these core challenges, we can unlock a more equitable and efficient future for cloud computing.

Centralization and High Costs in Cloud Computing

Centralized cloud computing models, primarily controlled by a handful of corporations, have created a market with limited competition and high service costs. This concentration of power leads to inflated pricing structures, making cloud services less accessible, especially for smaller entities. Furthermore, the geographically concentrated nature of these data centers can result in latency issues for remote users, compromising efficiency and user experience. This centralization not only curtails innovation by setting high financial barriers but also limits the geographical reach of advanced cloud technologies, thereby widening the global digital divide.

Underutilization of Computational Resources

A significant portion of GPUs, particularly those owned by enterprises and individuals, are not fully utilized, leading to a substantial inefficiency in the technology sector. This is often due to misalignment in resource allocation, where high-capacity GPUs are used for tasks that require much less computational power. Additionally, these resources often lie idle during non-peak periods, resulting in a paradox where immense computational power is available but remains largely untapped. Addressing this underutilization is crucial for maximizing technological investments and fostering a more efficient distribution of computational resources.

Barriers to Technological Access and Ownership

The current models of technology ownership and access are burdened with high initial costs and complex infrastructure demands. These barriers disproportionately disadvantage smaller organizations and individual innovators who lack the resources for such investments. This situation exacerbates the digital divide, where access to cutting-edge computational tools becomes a privilege of the few, stifling broader technological progress and innovation. Overcoming these barriers is essential to democratize access to technology, allowing a diverse range of participants to contribute to and benefit from technological advancements.

Technical and Performance Limitations in Cloud Services

Cloud services today, particularly in areas demanding real-time processing like cloud gaming and AI computations, face significant technical challenges. Issues such as latency, constrained rendering capabilities, and quality inconsistencies adversely affect the practicality and user experience of these services. These limitations are particularly critical in fields that depend on rapid data processing and high-quality rendering, where any performance shortcoming can drastically reduce the effectiveness of cloud-based applications. Enhancing these technical aspects is key to expanding the scope and appeal of cloud services across various industries.

Need for Scalable and Decentralized Infrastructure

The current cloud infrastructure predominantly features a centralized design, which lacks the agility and adaptability to efficiently meet the diverse and evolving needs of global users. This centralization limits the system's ability to scale and respond to regional and industry-specific requirements. A shift towards a more scalable and decentralized infrastructure is imperative to effectively cater to a broader range of needs. Such a transformation would not only lead to more efficient resource utilization but also improve the overall resilience and reliability of cloud services, making them more versatile and accessible across different regions and sectors.

Solution

Aethir believes anyone and everyone should have access to web-based services like cloud gaming, artificial intelligence, and other applications that make their lives easier or more enjoyable – regardless of where they live or their socio-economic status. This requires a new thinking and new paradigm to cloud infrastructure, as well as new ecosystem incentives to decentralize enterprise-grade infrastructure in a more economically efficient manner. By facilitating collaboration between infrastructure owners that have supply, and enterprise application owners that have demand, Aethir can create a scalable distributed ecosystem that is more interconnected, more efficient, more effective, and owned by the members of the ecosystem.

Aethir's Decentralized Cloud Infrastructure (DCI) encompasses networks for compute and rendering decentralized cloud services. Aethir offers fungible services to the demand side while relying on equally fungible hardware on the supply side. This means that a server in Hong Kong is equivalent to a server in Singapore. However, the advantage of Aethir's localized DCI is that it addresses potential latency issues, ensuring that the quality of service is maintained even when geographical challenges come into play.

Digital Resource Networks (or DRNs), where users can store and share digital resources in a decentralized manner, are an important component of supporting emerging technologies (like IoT, VR/AR, Cloud, AI/ML, etc.). Storage, compute, and bandwidth are three critical components for continued digitalization that is permeating all our lives. That said, there are physical constraints on server farms and limitations in transistor density and data storage within a given location – this is commonly known as centralized cloud, which simply cannot scale, which is a central point in Aethir’s mission.

Aethir is pioneering a decentralized physical infrastructure network (or DePIN), utilizing blockchain technology and tokenization to incentivize the development and utilization of physical infrastructure owned and operated by the community – this will allow the escalating demand for digital resources to be met, in a cost-effective manner, across the globe.

Real Time

The overall round-trip workflow of real-time cloud rendering involves several steps, including forwarding control input from the terminal to the container, processing instructions by the cloud-based application, capturing and encoding display and audio, transmitting video over the network, receiving and decoding the video, and rendering and displaying it. Each step typically takes several to tens of milliseconds to complete. If the cumulative lag between issuing an instruction and the action executed is too high, it can lead to a frustrating and unrealistic cloud-based application interaction experience. This presents significant technical challenges, particularly when dealing with fluctuating network conditions and high- quality graphic requirements. Aethir solves this challenge by facilitating distributed high-quality GPU-based compute around the world, exposing the right hardware for the appropriate use case, at scale.

Image Quality

Cloud-based app users pursue the ultimate visual experience, but real-time cloud rendering may experience poor image quality due to additional encoding and decoding processes. Furthermore, network bandwidth and quality limitations can further degrade the final picture quality presented to users. The Aethir network is designed to support a diverse range of cloud-based apps & services, each with its own unique style and visual elements. Aethir has built a unique mediation system to appropriately align the quality requirements of a given application to the appropriate network components, constantly monitoring and measuring quality levels to ensure changes in the network are suitably cared for. 

Decentralization

Unlike centralized systems, the Aethir network relies on rendering resources provided by the ecosystem, each with varying specifications and configurations. This introduces the risk of fraudulence, cheating, hacking, and other malicious behaviors during the rendering process. Ensuring a seamless user experience, maintaining compatibility, and ensuring proper operation of the decentralized platform continue to pose a significant challenge. Aethir monitors all infrastructure and utilizes open and ubiquitous blockchain technology to prevent malicious behaviours and ensure economics are appropriately aligned to the contributions of the ecosystem members. This makes the Aethir DCI fair, indiscriminate, and secure.

Scalability & Costs

Centralized cloud can be expensive and cost prohibitive, especially in emerging markets and for latency-sensitive applications – both of which are where Aethir is focused and has designed the platform with these aspects in mind. The more infrastructure that is exposed to the Aethir platform, the lower the marginal costs become as resources are more distributed and localized with lower operating costs and economies of scale. The tokenomics introduced by Aethir also purposely reward infrastructure partners that commit higher levels of compute on a more distributed basis and for a longer period, further driving costs down. Savings can also be passed on to users and application owners by more efficiently utilizing underutilized or unused infrastructure from various ecosystem members.

Removing Barriers

Web3 can be complex, and operating a global infrastructure platform can be costly and time-consuming. Aethir has simplified the decentralized cloud infrastructure by allowing simply and easy self-onboarding processes by both application owners and infrastructure owners, while also allowing ecosystem members to easily try out the platform with little or no commitment. Removing these barriers allows any organization, or individual, to participate in a cutting-edge DCI, fully democratizing access to technology and getting access to the ecosystem benefits. Anyone around the world can expose their GPU-based infrastructure, putting it in the hands of many.

Architecture Design

The Aethir network integrates three essential roles for its operation: Container, Indexer, and Checker. The Container's key function is to deliver real-time, remote rendering services, essential for a seamless cloud experience. The Indexer facilitates the connection between users and the most suitable Containers, ensuring an optimal match for the application’s requirements. The Checker role is pivotal in assessing the performance and service quality of Containers, guaranteeing reliable and efficient operation. The Layer 2 Arbitrum network underpins the Aethir ecosystem, providing a decentralized settlement layer that enhances the user experience with ATH tokens. It efficiently records transaction information, addressing critical challenges such as scalability, transaction speed, and high fees in blockchain systems. As blockchain technology evolves, Aethir is poised to expand these capabilities in a fully decentralized framework.

Role of the Indexer

Central to Aethir’s network, the Indexer matches consumers with suitable Containers, ensuring a swift launch of cloud-based apps & services. The goal is to deliver a “second on” service - the transition from a consumer’s request to the actual delivery (e.g., a player making a request to a game screen) should occur in the shortest possible time. This requires succinct signaling and efficient scheduling. 

Scheduling Considerations: 

Container Status: Must be in Standby state. 
Service Deployment: The cloud services should be pre-installed in the container. 
Resource Requirements: The container’s specifications must meet the hardware and network demands of the cloud services. 
Latency: The distance between the container and the consumer or enterprise should fall within acceptable latency limits. 
Service Fee: The container’s fee should not exceed the developer's budget.

Selection Criteria: The Indexer prioritizes containers based on lowest service fee, best experience, or the best overall evaluation index. 

Decentralization and Fraud Prevention: To maintain decentralization and enhance user experience, Indexers are selected randomly. This approach helps mitigate potential fraud risks and minimizes signaling delays due to protocol complexity. 

Role of the Checker

The Checker ensures the integrity and performance of Containers within the Aethir network. Verifying container specifications as provided by the Container Providers is essential to maintain the network's Quality of Service (QoS). 

Check Processes: 

At Registration: When a container is registered on the Aethir network. 
In Standby State: Random checks are conducted on containers in standby. 
During Rendering State: Service information is collected and assessed to judge the actual service status.

Outcome of Checks: 

Registration Validation: Confirms container specifications and successful registration. 
Scheduling Influence: Affects the container's scheduling opportunity and priority by the Indexer. 
Quality Control: Determines penalties for subpar service quality.

Checking Methods: 

Performance Parameters: Direct reading of container's performance data. 
Simulation Testing: Acting as a consumer to test applications and analyze interactions, ensuring compliance with claimed specifications.

Checker Deployment: Initially deployed by the Aethir, with plans for gradual decentralization. 

Role of the Container

Fundamental to the Aethir network, the Container is where the actual use of the cloud takes place. It acts as a virtual endpoint, executing and rendering the application (e.g., rendering the game for the player). The Container's purpose is to ensure that the cloud experience is immediate and responsive, offering a "zero lag" experience. This is achieved by shifting the workload from the local device to the Container (e.g., shifting all game execution and command processing). 

Operational Considerations: 

Container Status: Must always be in a ready state, prepared for immediate activation upon consumer request. 
Application Deployment: Each Container should have the application or services pre-installed and configured to allow quick access and startup. 
Processing Capability: Containers need to meet specific processing and graphical requirements to handle the applications or services without performance issues. 
Network Efficiency: Must possess the bandwidth and network infrastructure to support high-speed data transfer and low-latency interactions.

Selection Process: 

Performance-Based: Containers are selected based on their ability to provide the highest quality of service with the lowest possible latency and cost. 
Experience Optimization: Containers are assessed for their capability to deliver the best possible consumer or enterprise application experience, considering factors such as frame rate and resolution.

Resource Provisioning: 

Rewards for Readiness: Containers receive compensation for maintaining a state of high readiness and for providing standby services. 
Incentives for Service: Additional rewards are given for the actual runtime during which Containers are actively used by consumers.

Quality Assurance: 

Performance Validation: A Container's performance is regularly checked to ensure it continues to meet the network's standards. 
Service Feedback: The actual user experience is monitored and used to adjust the priority and selection of Containers in the future.

Participants 

The Aethir network stands at the forefront of decentralized cloud rendering, with an economy that integrates on-chain assets, smart contracts, and decentralized rendering services. Building this sophisticated economy requires a vision for the long-term and a commitment to aligning all participants with the network's goals. 

Network

The Aethir network is driven by five essential roles: miners, developers, users, token holders, and the Aethir DAO. Miners are categorized into three types: Containers, Checkers, and Indexers. Together, these roles facilitate network consensus and effective rendering services. The lifeblood of the network is the ATH token, which plays a pivotal role in stimulating user engagement, supporting the development of diverse applications within the ecosystem, and expanding our user base. This dynamic creates a self-sustaining cycle that encourages continual growth and development of the Aethir network.

Understanding Roles in the Network  

In the network, we have three key roles that ensure everything runs smoothly:

Containers: Think of Containers as the powerhouse of our network. They're like specialized computers that do all the heavy lifting, from validating transactions to rendering digital content. We've made sure they're diverse in their capabilities to cater to different needs.
Checkers: These are the quality inspectors. They continuously check on the Containers to make sure they're working correctly and efficiently.
Indexers: Consider them as matchmakers. They connect users to the best available Container, ensuring a fast and high-quality experience.

How Containers Work – Simplified

Containers have several states they can be in, which determine how they operate in our network:

Ready to Configure: When a Container is new, it's like it's waiting for its instructions. This is the time when it's set up with the right settings and information.
Waiting for Check-Up: Once set up, the Container waits for a Checker to make sure everything is in order.
Checked and Ready: If the Checker gives a thumbs up, the Container is all set to be used in the network.
Need Rechecking: If something's not right, the Container goes back for another check-up.
Connected and Healthy: A Container needs to show it's well-connected and functioning correctly. This is like a regular heartbeat, showing it's alive and kicking.
Locked for Maintenance: Sometimes, a Container needs a tune-up or an upgrade. During this time, it's not available for use.
Quality Control: We always monitor the quality of a Container's work. If it's not up to the mark, it needs to be checked and fixed.

What You See on the Dashboard

Ready for Action: Containers that have passed checks and are healthy.
Busy Working: Containers currently in the middle of a task.
Taking a Break: Containers that are offline or not in a healthy state.
Getting Set Up: Containers being prepared for action.

Billing and Usage

Active Use: Containers that are online, healthy, and busy with tasks.
On Standby: Containers that are ready and waiting but not currently busy.
Fee Adjustments: In certain situations, like if a Container isn't performing well or is offline when it shouldn't be, there could be fee adjustments.

Understanding the Aethir Network

The Aethir Network is a unique digital system that combines technology and economy. It’s like a bustling city where different players (miners, developers, users, token holders, and the Aethir DAO) come together to make everything work smoothly.

How Does the Network Work?

Proof of Rendering: Unlike usual blockchain networks, Aethir Network uses a special way to operate. Here, the nodes (think of them as individual workers) do two main jobs:
1. Proof of Rendering Capacity: Every 15 minutes, a group of these workers is randomly chosen to validate transactions (like checking if everything’s in order). The more they have invested (in terms of tokens), the better their service quality, and the less often they’ve been chosen before, the more likely they are to be picked.
2. Proof of Rendering Work: While working, their performance is closely monitored to ensure quality. The network makes sure that users get the best possible service, adjusting resources based on demand and location.
Session Dynamics: A session, lasting 15 minutes, is the primary unit of service. Think of it as booking a short service time-slot. The cost of each session changes depending on how busy the network is.
Container Statuses: Containers (like mini-offices or stations in the network) have various states that define what they are currently doing or capable of doing. These states include whether they are setting up, ready to work, locked for updates, etc.
Staking and Rewards: Think of staking as putting some money in a savings account. The more you put in, and the better your container performs, the more rewards you get. These rewards are given out in stages and are based on how much work your container does and how well it performs.
Service Modes: The network operates in two modes:
1. Service Modes: The network operates in two modes:
2. Wholesale: Like bulk buying, where services are pre-booked at a set price.
Service Fees: This is the cost paid by developers to the containers for the services. It’s a bit like a bidding system where the price can go up or down based on demand.
Slash Mechanism: This is a quality control system. If a container doesn’t do its job well, it gets penalized (slashed). This ensures everyone in the network is striving to provide the best service.

Developments

Cloud Gaming

The game deployment process on the Aethir network is designed to be both secure and user-friendly. To ensure smooth integration with Aethir's operational environment, games undergo a necessary adaptation process. This step is crucial for confirming game compatibility and optimizing performance within the Aethir ecosystem, balancing the dual objectives of maintaining robust security protocols while offering a streamlined and convenient experience for game developers. 

Development: Developers harness advanced capabilities of top-tier 3D engines like Unity or Unreal Engine, creating games with rich graphics and immersive gameplay. This stage involves meticulous attention to game mechanics, narrative, and visual aesthetics, ensuring games are not only engaging but also stand out in a competitive market. 
Integration: Integration of Aethir's SDK is crucial for games requiring sophisticated features like local payments and authentication. This step ensures a seamless and secure user experience, safeguarding transactional and personal data while enhancing player engagement through reliable and user-friendly interfaces. 
Packaging: Optimal packaging formats, Android APK or Windows EXE, are chosen to maximize accessibility and performance across diverse devices. This ensures a broad reach and a consistent gaming experience, whether on mobile or desktop platforms. 
Deployment: The deployment process involves rigorous checks for compatibility and security, ensuring that games uploaded to the Aethir network meet stringent standards. Developers provide detailed game information, facilitating a transparent and efficient review process. 
Distribution: Aethir's strategic distribution approach includes creating effective digital marketing assets, such as web pages or HTML5 links. These tools are designed to captivate and inform potential players, serving as a gateway to explore and engage with the game. 
Player Access: Emphasizing user-centric design, Aethir ensures that game access is straightforward and hassle-free. This focus on ease of use is key to retaining player interest and encouraging long-term engagement. 
Development Options: Offering flexibility, Aethir accommodates different development preferences. Developers can choose between proprietary clients or Aethir's streamlined mini-client, both integrated with the SDK, to best suit their project needs and technical expertise.

Other Applications

Aethir Cloud Phone

Aethir's robust infrastructure, already revolutionizing the cloud infrastructure industry, is set to expand its horizons with the introduction of the Aethir Cloud Phone infrastructure. This innovative B2C product is designed to seamlessly integrate within the existing Aethir hardware ecosystem, utilizing its decentralized cloud infrastructure to offer an unparalleled mobile application solution. Leveraging the same tokenomics and technical frameworks that have driven Aethir's success, the Aethir’s Cloud Phone technology represents a significant step forward in mobile technology, embodying the versatility and forward-thinking approach of Aethir's digital resource networks. 

What is a Cloud Phone

The Cloud Phone is an innovative application that transforms a user's mobile phone into a cloud-powered, infinitely replicable, super-powered mobile device. By downloading and installing the app, users can generate and access cloud phone instances, leveraging Aethir's high-powered cloud computing resources. This technology enables users to offload memory or storage-intensive applications to the cloud, significantly enhancing device performance, battery life and efficiency. It will also unlock incompatible applications that the Google Play or App Store restrict users from downloading due to owning old or lower-end hardware. Users will also be able to select the regions in which they launch the Cloud Phone app, meaning they can launch their cloud phone across multiple regions, operating much like a highly advanced VPN. Additionally, it offers enhanced privacy and security features, as sensitive data is processed and stored securely in the cloud, rather than on the user's device.  

A simple use case could involve a user running resource-heavy applications like advanced photo-editing software or gaming applications directly through the cloud phone, experiencing superior performance without taxing their device's native hardware, or battery life. This shift not only optimizes device longevity but also provides a safer, more secure computing environment. 

Technical Integration with Aethir's Infrastructure

The Aethir Cloud Phone will harness Aethir's decentralized cloud services, ensuring efficient and reliable communication capabilities. Built on the backbone of Aethir's GPU-based compute infrastructure, the cloud phone will capitalize on the high-performance rendering capabilities and low latency network operations. This integration not only ensures top-notch service quality but also demonstrates the flexible and dynamic nature of Aethir's decentralized cloud infrastructure, capable of adapting to diverse digital needs beyond gaming. 

Tokenomics and User Engagement

Staying true to Aethir's economic model, the Aethir Cloud Phone will operate within the existing tokenomics framework. This approach not only maintains simplicity but is also a highly efficient method of enhancing the intrinsic value of ATH tokens, as they become a universal medium for accessing a broader range of digital services, including cutting-edge communication technology. 

Market Positioning and Future Prospects  

As a B2C service, Aethir’s Cloud Phone technology is positioned to disrupt the conventional mobile communication market. By blending the advantages of decentralized infrastructure with the increasing demand for reliable and versatile cloud-based solutions, Aethir is set to attract a diverse consumer base. Looking ahead, the introduction of the cloud phone marks the beginning of Aethir's expansion into varied sectors, leveraging its innovative technology to explore new frontiers across the GPU-first economy. 

Aethir Bare-Metal

In response to the evolving needs of our enterprise grade, security conscious clients, Aethir is introducing a distributed bare-metal solution. This innovative offering is designed for providers who wish to deploy their own full software stack in the short-term. Recognizing the critical importance of trust and reliability for our large enterprise clients, this solution serves as an essential stepping stone. It's tailored to not only meet immediate security needs but also to ease these organizations into the broader Aethir ecosystem, fostering long-term partnerships. 

Our vision for this bare-metal solution is focused yet flexible, with a clear roadmap to integrate customers into our IaaS and PaaS offerings within the next 12 months. This timeline reflects our commitment to continuous improvement and adaptation to market demands. We believe that by enhancing our functionality and capabilities, we can transition this business model into a seamless part of our comprehensive, decentralized cloud infrastructure services. 

From an economics perspective, the bare-metal solution aligns with Aethir's established tokenomics. Infrastructure providers supplying for this service will still benefit from our robust rewards ecosystem, ensuring parity with other hardware providers in our network. This approach not only ensures equitable incentives but also reinforces our commitment to a unified, fair, and transparent economic model across all our offerings. 

In conclusion, the Aethir Bare-Metal solution is a strategic endeavour to address specific market segments and client needs, whilst ensuring that Aethir can rapidly take advantage of enterprise demand. It underscores our adaptability and readiness to provide solutions that not only meet immediate security requirements but also pave the way for future growth and integration within our cloud computing framework. 

For More Information

For more information on Aethir's Decentralised Network, visit: aethir.com/forms/partnership-form

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