Swarm NL application submission

applications/swarm-nl.md

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+# SwarmNL
+- **Team Name:** Algorealm, Inc.
+- **Payment Address:** TBA
+- **Level:** 2
+
+## Project Overview :page_facing_up:
+
+### Overview
+
+SwarmNL is a configurable P2P networking layer designed to be used in distributed system architectures that require data transfer solutions for off-chain communication in a scalable way.
+
+It's goal is to provide a lightweight and configurable P2P networking layer for web applications designed to interact with on-chain data.
+
+### Project Details
+
+Algorealm has been building [SamaritanDB](https://algorealm.gitbook.io/samaritandb/), a database management system that allows app users to share parts of their personal data with applications on the internet while retaining control of what data they share. To achieve this, it uses Kilt DIDs and relies on an ink! smart contract to enforce access control.
+
+As we started building the [SamaritanDB prototype](https://github.com/thewoodfish/samaritan-db) we realized that the networking layer will be a critical building block that can be abstracted into its own subsystem. This gave birth to the idea of creating SwarmNL: a networking layer that can be easily integrated into existing infrastructure without deep technical overhead and knowledge. As a standalone library, it will help teams building applications that require networking to move faster, reliably.
+
+Our goal is to build this for our own purposes and to make it available for any other project to use. Here's a diagram illustrating the integration of SwarmNL to SamaritanDB:
+
+![SwarmNL and SamaritanDB](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/thewoodfish/encode-ink/main/SwarmNL%20and%20SamDB.png)
+
+
+### Features
+
+After some research, here are the features we decided to focus on.
+
+* **Node Communication** -- SwarmNL enables P2P node communication by providing an interface for the following:
+    * **Node Configuration** -- SwarmNL would provide a simple interface to configure the node and specify parameters to dictate its behaviour. This includes:
+        * Selection and configuration of the transport layers to be supported by the node.
+        * Selection of the cryptographic keypair to use for identity generation e.g Edwards.
+        * Storage and retrieval of keypair locally.
+        * PeerID and multiaddress generation.
+        * Protocol specification and handlers.
+        * Event handlers for network events and logging.
+
+    * **Gossiping** -- SwarmNL will implement the [Gossipsub 1.1](https://github.com/libp2p/specs/blob/master/pubsub/gossipsub/gossipsub-v1.1.md) protocol, specified by the [libp2p spec](https://github.com/libp2p/specs). This would be easily configurable to accommodate varying and peculiar network conditions.
+
+* **Scaling** -- SwarmNL needs to efficiently handle a growing (or shrinking) number of nodes while maintaining performance and reliability. Here's what we plan to implement to this effect:
+    * **Sharding** -- implementation of a flexible generic sharding protocol that allows application specify configurations like sharding hash functions and locations for shards.
+    * **Data Forwarding** -- definition of a protocol for forwarding messages between nodes in different shards and establishment of efficient routing mechanisms for inter-shard communication.
+    * **Fault Tolerance** -- implementation of fault-tolerant mechanisms for detecting (and recovering from) node failures. This might involve redundancy, node replication, erasure encoding/decoding or re-routing strategies. 
+
+* **IPFS**:
+    * **Upload** -- provision of interfaces to upload to IPFS, pin on current node and post arbitrary data to remote servers. Encryption is also easily pluggable and will be provided.
+    * **Download** -- retrieval and possible decryption of data from the IPFS network.
+
+
+#### Technology Stack
+
+* Libp2p
+* Rust
+
+
+#### What is not included in SwarmNL
+SwarmNL will not be involved in providing a storage solution. Because SwarmNL will be generic over the networking layer, it will be possible to easily plug in any storage interface in a flexible and configurable way.
+
+Storage maintained by the library will mostly be in memory with the exception of config files and other node state keeping data.
+
+### Ecosystem Fit
+- Where and how does your project fit into the ecosystem?
+    - SwarmNL can be used by applications or projects that require a bespoke decentralized communication layer for transporting and exchanging off-chain data.
+- Who is your target audience (parachain/dapp/wallet/UI developers, designers, your own user base, some dapp's userbase, yourself)?
+    - Our priority is to build this for [SamaritanDB](https://github.com/thewoodfish/samaritan-db). However, SwarmNL will be generic enough to be used by any developer in the ecosystem that would require a primitive networking layer
+- What need(s) does your project meet?
+    - It provides an open-source and flexible communication layer for distributed networking and off-chain data exchange.
+- Are there any other projects similar to yours in the Substrate / Polkadot / Kusama ecosystem?
+    - While projects like [Crust network](https://crust.network/) provide a full stack decentralized cloud storage solution for the ecosystem as a dedicated blockchain with an opinionated programming interface, SwarmNL is one subsystem that can be used as a core networking component to build all sorts of decentralized applications, including a bespoke storage solution. Other initiatives like [Polkadot Native Storage](https://forum.polkadot.network/t/polkadot-native-storage/4551) who also piggy back on existing libp2p networking implementations differ as SwarmNL provides the pluggable and interoperable networking layer only.
+
+## Team :busts_in_silhouette:
+
+### Team members
+
+* Adedeji Adebayo (Engineering Lead and Core Developer)
+* Sacha Lansky (Project Lead, Documentation and Testing)
+
+
+### Contact
+
+- **Contact Name:** Sacha Lansky  
+- **Contact Email:** [email protected]
+
+### Legal Structure
+
+- **Registered Address:** 254 CHAPMAN RD STE 209, NEWARK, DE.
+- **Registered Legal Entity:** Algorealm, Inc.
+
+### Team's experience
+
+Adedeji Adebayo is a dynamic and inquisitive programmer, spanning over five years of experience in web development, systems software, and blockchain technologies and is also the founder of Algorealm. His notable achievements include securing a position among the top three winners in the Web3 and Tooling category of the [Polkadot Hackathon: North America Edition](https://polkadot-na.devpost.com). Additionally, he emerged as the sole winner in the KILT category during the [Polkadot Hackathon: Europe Edition](https://www.polkadotglobalseries.com/europe/), where he presented a solution for property management issues in West Africa.
+
+Sacha Lansky started his journey into the Polkadot ecosystem in 2020 and joined Parity to lead developer advocate related activities in 2021. Since then he has written a number of guides and tutorials to help newcomers learn how to build on Polkadot, with a focus on Substrate. He's launched initiatives such as the Substrate Newsletter, Substrate Seminar, SDK Unwinds as well as played a key role in the content launch for the first wave of the Polkadot Blockchain Academy.
+
+Sacha and Adedeji met during a Polkadot hackathon back in 2022 where Sacha was his hackathon mentor at the time and helped him flesh out the vision for realising SamaritanDB. Since then, they have been iterating on the required infrastructure to be able to create a decentralized operating system for building applications powered by SamaritanDB.
+
+### Team Code Repos
+
+The SwarmNL Github repository: https://github.com/algorealminc/SwarmNL
+
+### Team Github Profiles
+
+- https://github.com/thewoodfish
+- https://github.com/sacha-l
+
+## Development Status :open_book:
+
+We have built a PoC for SamaritanDB (see [the Github repo here](https://github.com/thewoodfish/samaritandb-proto1)). A very small inflexible version of SwarmNL was used in the development of the PoC, as an inclusive non-distinguishable part of the system. This grant will help us work towards isolating and making this component robust, configurable and pluggable for any project.
+
+## Development Roadmap :nut_and_bolt:
+### Overview
+
+- **Total Estimated Duration:** 3 months
+- **Full-Time Equivalent (FTE):** 1
+- **Total Costs:** $24,000
+
+### Milestone 1
+
+- **Estimated duration:** 1.5 months
+- **FTE:** 1
+- **Costs:** $12,000
+
+| Number | Deliverable | Specification |
+| -----: | ----------- | ------------- |
+| **0a.** | License | Apache 2.0 |
+| **0b.** | Documentation | We will provide both **inline documentation** of the code and a basic **tutorial** that explains how a user can integrate SwarmNL and configure nodes on the network. |
+| **0c.** | Testing and Testing Guide | Core functions will be fully covered by comprehensive unit tests to ensure functionality and robustness. In the guide, we will describe how to run these tests. |
+| **0d.** | Docker | We will provide a Dockerfile(s) that can be used to test all the functionality delivered with this milestone. |
+| 1. | SwarmNL configuration module | Implementation of the configuration interfaces to define the behaviour of the nodes and the network. |
+| 2. | Gossipsub | Implementation of the gossipsub communication algorithm and configurable interfaces for application level data filtering and authentication. |
+
+### Milestone 2
+
+- **Estimated Duration:** 1.5 months (6 weeks)
+- **FTE:** 1
+- **Costs:** $12,000
+
+| Number | Deliverable | Specification |
+| -----: | ----------- | ------------- |
+| **0a.** | License | Apache 2.0 |
+| **0b.** | Documentation | We will provide both **inline documentation** of the code and a basic **tutorial** that explains how a user can add new nodes to SwarmNL. |
+| **0c.** | Testing and Testing Guide | Core functions will be fully covered by comprehensive unit tests to ensure functionality and robustness. In the guide, we will describe how to run these tests. |
+| **0d.** | Docker | We will provide a Dockerfile(s) that can be used to test all the functionality delivered with this milestone. |
+| 0e. | Demo API usage | Showcase API usage with short guides using different configurations. |
+| 1. | Scaling | Implementation of sharding, data-forwarding and fault-tolerant algorithms into SwarmNL. |
+| 2. | IPFS integration | Implementation of interfaces to upload, download and pin IPFS files. |
+| 3. | Additional Extendability | Implementation of interfaces to POST arbitrary data to remote servers. |
+
+
+## Future Plans
+
+With milestones 1 and 2 completed, we plan to continue the development of SamaritanDB and launch an MVP that we will use to roll out the first wave of applications powered by SamaritanDB.
+
+## Additional Information :heavy_plus_sign:
+
+**How did you hear about the Grants Program?** Personal recommendation.