Introduction
Project name: Refurbishing of Sia Satellite
Name of the organization or individual submitting the proposal: Michael Bulanov
Describe your project.
The first (and the only known) public satellite (https://ss-alpha.online) has been there for a couple of years. Apparently, people have been using it, although several people reported that they experienced various issues. The satellite operator (which happens to be the same as the project developer) could not reproduce those issues, but they obviously made Sia Satellite less usable.
Problem number two is that Sia Satellite will stop functioning after the hardfork. Support for V2 hosts and V2 contracts needs to be added promptly.
Problem number three is the necessity to run a custom fork of renterd. The project developer believes that this has actually been the most severe hurdle that prevented a broader adoption. The reason for creating a custom fork was mainly because Sia Satellite was developed before the renterd API had taken the shape it has today. The project developer believes that it should now be possible to rely solely on the API endpoints, without ever needing to modify the code of renterd.
Lastly, multiple people criticized the design of the web portal, and the project developer finds this criticism fair.
So, the present proposal is aimed at solving the problems described above.
Who benefits from your project?
The ultimate purpose of Sia Satellite, allowing more people to use the Sia network by eliminating the need to buy crypto currency, has not changed. With other added benefits, like taking the data health monitoring off the shoulders of the renters, this aims at lowering the barriers for a mass adoption of the Sia project.
How does the project serve the Foundation’s mission of user-owned data?
Let’s be fair, Sia Satellite adds a bit of centralization by means of running a physical server that can be taken down anytime. However, having implemented the changes included in this proposal, the project developer hopes that it will become easier for the others to run more satellites, so this centralization will in the end become less pronounced.
Also, Sia Satellite does not take over the user-owned data. It only forms storage contracts on behalf of the user. Other features, like migrating the data if its health drops, require more trust, but such features are optional and still do not grant the satellite operator a full access to the data.
We cannot provide grants to residents of jurisdictions under increased FATF monitoring, those that have active OFAC sanctions, or those that fail our bank compliance tests. We also cannot provide grants if your payment bank account is located in those same locations. Please review the following list.
Are you a resident of any jurisdiction on that list? No
Will your payment bank account be located in any jurisdiction on that list? No
Grant Specifics
Project budget:
The project developer requests the budget of $27000 over the period of 6 months.
Timeline with measurable objectives and goals.
Milestone 1: Define the product specifications
- Define the API endpoints
- Define the portal structure
- Create a design specification
Timeline: by April 2, 2025
Budget: $2000
Milestone 2: Build the backend core
- Syncer
- Chain manager
- Multi-address wallet
- Host database
Timeline: by May 2, 2025
Budget: $4000
Milestone 2a: Design the web portal (shall run in parallel to Milestone 2)
- Hire a web designer
- Have the web designer develop a portal design according to the specification
Timeline: by June 2, 2025
Budget: $5000
Milestone 3: Build the contract manager
- V1 and V2 contract formations
- V1 and V2 contract renewals
- Archiving expired contracts
- Contract transfer to and from
renterd
Timeline: by June 2, 2025
Budget: $4000
Milestone 4: Build the web portal
- Build the web portal according to the design
Timeline: by July 2, 2025
Budget: $4000
Milestone 5: Enable file repairs
- Metadata backup
- Data migration
- Metadata transfer back to
renterd
Timeline: by August 2, 2025
Budget: $4000
Milestone 6: Wrap-up
- Satellite operator interface
- Testing
- Writing the docs
Timeline: by September 2, 2025
Budget: $4000
Potential risks that will affect the outcome of the project:
The satellite https://ss-alpha.online has been running long enough to demonstrate the viability of the project. The only foreseeable risk that remains is that some of the required renterd API endpoints are either not implemented or are not working as expected. In such a case, either some work together with the Foundation developers shall be carried out to implement the missing behavior, or the respective features shall be abandoned.
Development Information
Will all of your project’s code be open-source?
The code has always been available at GitHub - mike76-dev/sia-satellite: A network service that allows credit card payment for Sia storage., and this will not change.
Leave a link where code will be accessible for review.
See above.
Do you agree to submit monthly progress reports?
Yes.
Contact Info
The contact details of the project developer should already be known to the Foundation.
Therefore, I’m giving my vote for Satellite and wishing Mike good luck in finding a great designer because I want to see it with a cool new design. Excited to see how Satellite evolves with this aesthetic and backend core refresh!