Akash Network

Akash's Supercloud model aggregates underutilized compute capacity from global data centers into a single, unified marketplace. This architecture enables:

• Multi-cloud deployment across any provider on the network.
• Provider-agnostic workloads that can run on any compatible hardware.
• Fault tolerance by distributing applications across multiple, independent providers.

The platform acts as an abstraction layer, presenting a heterogeneous pool of resources as a single, programmable cloud.

The core economic mechanism is a reverse auction where tenants (users needing compute) set a price, and providers bid to offer their resources at lower prices. Key features:

• Tenant-defined price: Users specify the maximum price they are willing to pay for a deployment.
• Competitive bidding: Providers compete by submitting lower bids to win the lease.
• Automated settlement: The winning provider's bid price becomes the lease price, paid in AKT tokens. This model creates a transparent, efficient market that drives down cloud computing costs.

Workloads are defined using an Akash Manifest written in Stack Definition Language (SDL), a declarative YAML-based configuration. The SDL specifies:

• Service definitions (e.g., a web frontend, a database).
• Compute resources required (CPU, memory, storage).
• Placement constraints for provider attributes.
• Exposed endpoints and network configuration. The SDL enables portable, reproducible deployments. A deployment is a live instance of a workload defined by a manifest, managed through the Akash CLI or console.

Akash is built as an application-specific blockchain using the Cosmos SDK and secured by Tendermint Core BFT consensus. This foundation provides:

• Sovereign blockchain: Akash controls its own governance, staking, and fee market.
• High performance: Tendermint offers fast finality (~6 second block times).
• Interoperability: Native Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol connectivity to the Cosmos ecosystem and beyond.
• Staking & Security: The native AKT token is used for staking, governance, and securing the network through a delegated Proof-of-Stake (dPoS) model.

Providers run the Akash Provider Service, a software stack that interfaces with their physical or virtual infrastructure. Key components include:

• Akash Node: Connects the provider to the Akash blockchain to listen for bids and manage leases.
• Provider Service: Manages the lifecycle of deployments, including container orchestration (via Kubernetes or Docker Compose).
• Inventory & Bidding Engine: Advertises available resources and automatically places bids in the marketplace. Providers must bond AKT as collateral to signal commitment and reliability.

Akash is a container-native platform. It uses industry-standard container runtimes and orchestration:

• Docker & CRI-O: Supported container runtimes for executing workloads.
• Kubernetes Integration: The primary orchestration layer for most providers, managing pod scheduling, networking, and service discovery.
• Persistent Storage: Supports Persistent Volumes (PVs) for stateful applications, with storage classes defined in the SDL. This compatibility allows developers to deploy any cloud-native application built with standard container tooling without modification.

A Supercloud is a cloud computing model that abstracts and unifies multiple underlying cloud providers into a single, programmable layer. Akash Network is a decentralized Supercloud, aggregating compute capacity from a global network of independent data centers and providers. This enables users to deploy applications without vendor lock-in, accessing a competitive marketplace for compute resources.

• Key Feature: Provides a single interface to a multi-provider marketplace.
• Contrast: Unlike traditional multi-cloud strategies that require managing separate accounts with AWS, Google Cloud, and Azure, a Supercloud like Akash offers a unified deployment target.

Akash Network's reverse auction is the core mechanism for pricing and allocating cloud resources. In this model, users specify their deployment requirements (CPU, RAM, storage) and providers bid to fulfill the request, with the lowest bid winning. This creates a competitive, market-driven price discovery system distinct from the fixed pricing of traditional cloud providers.

• Process: 1) User submits a deployment manifest. 2) Providers submit sealed bids. 3) The lowest compliant bid is selected automatically.
• Outcome: Drives down costs for users and ensures efficient utilization of provider capacity.

Persistent Storage (often called Persistent Volumes or PV) on Akash Network allows stateful applications, like databases or blockchains, to retain data across pod restarts and redeployments. This is a critical feature for production workloads, as without it, data would be ephemeral and lost when a container stops. Akash implements this using provider-hosted storage that is mounted into the application container.

• Use Case: Running a PostgreSQL database or a blockchain node on Akash requires persistent storage.
• Implementation: Defined in the SDL (Stack Definition Language) deployment file, specifying size and mount path.

The Stack Definition Language (SDL) is a declarative YAML-based configuration file used to define an application's deployment requirements on Akash Network. It specifies everything the provider needs to know to host the workload, replacing the need for proprietary cloud CLI tools or consoles.

• Contents: Defines container images, CPU/RAM requirements, persistent storage, exposed endpoints, and environment variables.
• Analogy: Serves a similar purpose to Docker Compose or Kubernetes manifests, but standardized for Akash's decentralized marketplace.

Akash Network is built with the Cosmos SDK, a modular framework for building sovereign, application-specific blockchains. It uses the Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol, enabling seamless transfer of assets and data between Akash and other IBC-enabled chains like Osmosis or Cosmos Hub. This architecture is fundamental to Akash's interoperability and economic model.

• Sovereignty: Akash operates as its own blockchain, not a smart contract on another network.
• IBC Use: Allows users to pay for deployments with assets from other chains and enables AKT to flow across the Interchain.

AKT is the native utility and governance token of the Akash Network blockchain. It serves three primary functions:

• Settlement: Used as the default currency for payments between tenants (users) and providers in the marketplace.
• Security: Staked by validators to secure the Proof-of-Stake blockchain.
• Governance: Grants holders voting rights on network parameter changes and protocol upgrades.

AKT also acts as a reserve currency for other payment options; providers set exchange rates for tokens like USDC, which are settled internally via AKT.