Access to Network Resources

Access to Network Resources

In the Impossible Cloud Network (ICN), Service Providers (SPs) are required to provide ICNT tokens to access the network’s storage and computing resources. The SP ICNT access requirements are calculated based on the capacity requested by the SP and the current pricing of the relevant hardware nodes (HNs) in the network. These SP ICNT access requirements are essential for ensuring that Hardware Providers (HPs) are compensated for their services and that the network remains operational.

Figure 1: Network Resources Flow in the ICN This flowchart illustrates how Service Providers (SPs) request capacity and provide ICNT tokens. The ICNT is distributed to the Reward Reserve, which allocates rewards to Hardware Providers (HPs) and SLA Oracles. The Protocol Treasury retains a margin to ensure network maintenance and development.

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How Access to Network Resources are Calculated

1. Capacity Request: SPs submit a request specifying:

   • Storage amount (e.g., 1PB).

   • Location (e.g., specific region, zone, or cluster).

   • Duration of required storage.

2. Pre-Assignment and Price Calculation:

   • Cluster Price: The price within a cluster is determined based on HP reservation prices, with lower reservation prices increasing the likelihood of selection.

   • Max Cluster Price: A cap to ensure that pricing within clusters remains fair and accessible.

3. Final ICNT Requirement Calculation:

   • After pre-assignment, the ICN protocol calculates the total ICNT requirement that an SP must provide, factoring in the protocol margin.

4. Formula:

   $\text{ICNT Requirement} = (1 + \text{Protocol Margin}) \times \text{Cluster Price}$

   • Protocol Margin: This is a small percentage retained by the protocol (e.g., 25%) to keep the network sustainability and maintenance.

   Example: If an SP requests 1 PB of storage and the selected Cluster Price is 2,800 ICNT per PB, with a Protocol Margin of 25%, the SP’s final ICNT access requirement will be:

   $3,500 \text{ ICNT per PB} = (1 + 0.25) \times 2,800$

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Distribution of SP ICNT Access Requirements

The ICNT provided by SPs are distributed to various parts of the network to ensure its smooth operation:

• Reward Reserve: A large portion of the contributions goes into the Reward Reserve, which is responsible for distributing ICNT rewards to HPs and SLA Oracles for their services.

• Protocol Treasury: The protocol’s margin is reserved for network upkeep, development, and future use cases.

After the SP has provided the ICNT, the HP that provides the storage will receive the agreed-upon Utilisation Reward over the duration of the storage usage. The ICNT amount provided by the SP is locked and gradually distributed to the HP as they continue to fulfil the storage request.

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For more information about how SPs interact with the network, see the Capacity Allocation page.