Systems

Tutorials and posts on computing, storage and networked systems, and more.

Blockchain | Systems | Systems 101 | Tutorial

The Role of DEX Aggregators and Routers in Decentralized Trading
ByEric Ma Mar 17, 2025

In the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem, decentralized exchanges (DEXs) enable users to trade cryptocurrencies without intermediaries. However, with the growing number of DEXs offering varying levels of liquidity, fees, and trading pairs, navigating this landscape efficiently can be challenging. DEX aggregators and routers are tools designed to optimize trading, but they serve different purposes. This…

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Blockchain | Systems

Understanding Cryptocurrency
ByEric Ma Jan 15, 2025Jan 15, 2025

This is an introductional slides on understanding cryptocurrency. Slides link: Understanding Cryptocurrency

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Blockchain | Systems

Understanding Temporary Forks and Reorganization in Blockchain
ByEric Ma Dec 14, 2024Dec 15, 2024

Temporary forks and chain reorganizations (reorgs) are natural occurrences in decentralized blockchain systems. They arise due to the asynchronous nature of block propagation across the network. While temporary forks are short-lived and resolved quickly, chain reorganization refers to the process by which the blockchain discards one branch in favor of a longer or higher-priority chain….

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Blockchain | Systems | Systems 101 | Tutorial

Private Key Sharding: A Technical Guide
ByEric Ma Sep 14, 2024May 4, 2025

Private key sharding is a technique used to distribute a private key into multiple parts, or “shards,” to enhance security and fault tolerance. This method is particularly useful in scenarios where a single point of failure must be avoided, such as in secure communications, cryptocurrency wallets, and distributed systems. What is Private Key Sharding? Private…

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Blockchain | Systems | Systems 101 | Tutorial

What is BTC SegWit and Its Impact on Transaction Fees
ByEric Ma Sep 14, 2024

Segregated Witness (SegWit) is a protocol upgrade for Bitcoin that enhances its scalability and transaction efficiency. Introduced in 2017, SegWit addresses several limitations of the original Bitcoin protocol, including transaction malleability and block size constraints. Understanding SegWit What is SegWit? SegWit stands for “Segregated Witness,” referring to the separation of signature data from transaction data….

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Blockchain | Systems | Systems 101 | Tutorial

Understanding Bitcoin Transaction Structure: Legacy and Witness Versions
ByEric Ma Sep 14, 2024

Bitcoin transactions are the backbone of the Bitcoin network, facilitating the transfer of value. Understanding their structure is essential for anyone interested in blockchain technology. This article delves into the details of both legacy and witness (SegWit) transaction structures. Basics of Bitcoin Transactions A Bitcoin transaction comprises inputs and outputs. Inputs are sources of funds,…

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Blockchain | Systems | Systems 101 | Tutorial

Proving Ownership of BTC Multisig Addresses
ByEric Ma Sep 14, 2024Sep 14, 2024

Proving ownership of a Bitcoin (BTC) address is a crucial aspect in various scenarios. The post Proof of Ownership for BTC Addresses introduced the proof for non-multisig addresses. This guide explores how to prove ownership for different multisig BTC address types, including algorithm specifications and step-by-step methods. What is a Multisig Address? A Bitcoin multisig…

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Blockchain | Systems | Systems 101 | Tutorial

Proof of Ownership for BTC Addresses: A Detailed Guide
ByEric Ma Sep 14, 2024

Proving ownership of a Bitcoin (BTC) address is a crucial aspect in various scenarios, such as verifying identity in a transaction or demonstrating holdings without revealing private keys. This guide explores how to prove ownership for different BTC address types, including algorithm specifications and step-by-step methods. BTC Address Types P2PKH (Pay-to-Public-Key-Hash) P2SH (Pay-to-Script-Hash) P2WPKH (Pay-to-Witness-Public-Key-Hash)…

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Systems | Systems 101 | Tutorial

A Comprehensive Guide to PGP: Technical Deep Dive
ByEric Ma Sep 8, 2024Sep 8, 2024

Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) is a robust encryption program that ensures privacy and authentication for data communication. Developed by Phil Zimmermann in 1991, it’s widely used for securing emails, files, and directories. This article explores the technical details of PGP, including its algorithms, key management, and detailed processes for encryption, decryption, and signing. Cryptographic Foundations…

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Systems | Systems 101 | Tutorial

Linear Consistency Model for Computer Systems
ByEric Ma Sep 6, 2024

Linear consistency models are crucial in ensuring reliability and coherence in distributed computer systems. These models help manage how systems handle data and operations across multiple nodes, ensuring consistency without sacrificing performance. What is a Linear Consistency Model? In distributed computing, a linear consistency model ensures that operations on distributed data appear as if they…

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Systems | Systems 101 | Tutorial

Understanding Cloud Storage Consistency Models
ByEric Ma Sep 6, 2024

Cloud storage systems utilize various consistency models to balance performance, availability, and data accuracy. This article explores these models, their trade-offs, and examples of systems using them. We’ll also discuss the CAP theorem and its implications. Consistency Models Strong Consistency Definition: Guarantees that any read operation returns the most recent write for a given piece…

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Computing systems | Systems | Systems 101 | Tutorial

Comparing Paxos and Raft
ByEric Ma Sep 6, 2024

Paxos and Raft are both consensus algorithms used to ensure consistency in distributed systems. While they solve similar problems, they have different approaches and design philosophies. Characteristics Paxos Roles: Proposers, Acceptors, Learners. Phases: Two main phases (Prepare/Promise and Propose/Accept). Leader Election: Not explicitly defined, often implemented using Multi-Paxos to handle multiple proposals efficiently. Use Cases:…

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Computing systems | Systems | Systems 101 | Tutorial

Understanding the Paxos Consensus Algorithm
ByEric Ma Sep 6, 2024

The Paxos consensus algorithm is a fundamental concept in distributed computing that ensures a group of distributed systems can agree on a single value, even in the presence of failures. Developed by Leslie Lamport, Paxos is widely used in systems where consistency and fault tolerance are critical, such as databases and distributed ledgers. Consensus Problem…

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Computing systems | Systems | Systems 101 | Tutorial

Understanding the Raft Consensus Protocol
ByEric Ma Aug 24, 2024Aug 24, 2024

The Raft consensus protocol is a distributed consensus algorithm designed to be more understandable than other consensus algorithms like Paxos. It ensures that a cluster of servers can agree on the state of a system even in the presence of failures. Key Concepts Raft divides the consensus problem into three relatively independent subproblems: Leader Election:…

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Linux | Systems | Tutorial

Installing Zlib in Ubuntu 22.04
ByEthan Ainsworth Mar 24, 2023Mar 26, 2023

Zlib is a popular open-source compression library used by many software applications to compress and decompress data. It provides fast and efficient compression and decompression algorithms that can be used to reduce the size of data, which can improve performance and reduce storage requirements. In this post, we will discuss how to install zlib in…

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Blockchain | Insights | Systems

Decentralized Exchanges (DEX) vs. Centralized Exchanges (CEX): A Technical Comparison
ByEthan Ainsworth Mar 19, 2023Mar 19, 2023

Cryptocurrency exchanges have revolutionized the way we trade digital assets, with two main types of exchanges dominating the market: decentralized exchanges (DEX) and centralized exchanges (CEX). In this article, we’ll compare the DEX and CEX from a technical perspective. Decentralized Exchanges (DEX) DEX operate on a decentralized blockchain network, such as Ethereum, and are built…

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Blockchain | Insights

The Impact of Blockchain and Crypto Technologies on Global Financial Markets
ByBtcman.io Mar 18, 2023Mar 19, 2023

Welcome to the groundbreaking world of cryptocurrency and blockchain technologies! These cutting-edge technologies are shaking up the global financial environment and paving the path for a more transparent and decentralized future. Consider blockchain technology to be a digital counterpart of a ledger book. It is a secure and immutable digital ledger that records all transactions…

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Network | Systems | Web

SPF, DKIM and DMARC to Stop Email Sender Fraud: Intro and How to
ByDavid Yang Oct 31, 2021Oct 31, 2021

Email sender fraud is an annoying problem. Malicious email senders send spam emails with email senders that are under non-authorized domain names. This may affect the reputation of the domains used by the fraud sender. On another hand, lots emails will be rejected and reverted back, which causes lots additional work to the domain administrators….

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Blockchain | Systems | Tutorial

How to Query Transaction By ID in Hyperledger Fabric 2.0
ByEric Ma Apr 9, 2020Mar 1, 2021

Querying transaction content out from a blockchain network is a common practice used by common scenarios like exploring the blockchain history or verifying the blockchain transaction content from a known ID. In Hyperledger Fabric, the transaction can be queried using a special system chaincode QSCC (Query System Chaincode) which is for ledger and other Fabric-related…

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Blockchain | Systems

How to Install Hyperledger Fabric 2.0 in Ubuntu 18.04
ByEric Ma Apr 8, 2020Mar 1, 2021

Hyperledger Fabric is a consortium blockchain system. It’s performance is relatively good and its modular architecture enables it to be usable in many scenarios. Hyperledger Fabric itself has rich documents and samples of test networks. For beginners, deploying a new network for trying and testing still consumes quite some time. In this post, we will…

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