1. Hardware Providers (HPs): The Backbone of ICN

Hardware Providers (HPs) lay the groundwork for ICN, providing the physical infrastructure that enables decentralized cloud services. If ICN were a city, HPs would be the property owners offering their computing and storage capacity.

What Do HPs Do?

• Provide Resources: HPs supply storage and computing power to ICN, which Service Providers use for their applications.
• Ensure Performance: HPs adhere to Service Level Agreements (SLAs) to maintain high availability and performance standards.
• Lock Collateral: HPs lock ICN Tokens as a guarantee of their reliability. If they fail to uphold their commitments, part of their collateral may be forfeited.

How Are HPs Rewarded? HPs are incentivized with ICNT tokens through:

• Utilization Rewards: Based on the extent to which their resources are used by SPs (e.g., an HP with 80% utilization earns more than one at 20%).
• Base Rewards: A temporary subsidy to promote early adoption and network growth.
• Bonus Incentives: HPs that lock additional collateral (“overcollateralization”) receive higher rewards, showcasing their reliability to the network.

Why Should You Join as an HP? Becoming an HP enables you to monetize unused hardware and contribute to a global decentralized network. ICN’s transparent reward system ensures fairness and encourages long-term involvement.

2. Service Providers (SPs): The Builders of ICN

SPs are the creators of ICN’s ecosystem, leveraging the infrastructure to develop decentralized services such as cloud storage, content delivery, and edge computing.

What Do SPs Do?

• Request Resources: SPs submit detailed requests for storage and computing capacity, specifying the size, location, and duration needed.
• Contribute ICNT Tokens: SPs pay for these resources using ICNT tokens, with pricing set by the network’s protocol.
• Develop Decentralized Services: SPs build applications that benefit from ICN’s decentralized and resilient structure.

Why Should You Join as an SP? Leveraging ICN’s infrastructure allows SPs to access scalable, cost-effective resources without relying on centralized providers. This results in high uptime, reduced operational costs, and immunity from censorship and single points of failure.

3. SLA Oracles: The Guardians of Network Integrity

SLA Oracles function as the auditors of ICN, ensuring HPs meet the network’s performance standards. They provide accountability without centralized oversight.

What Do SLA Oracles Do?

• Monitor Performance: Oracles verify that HPs meet SLA benchmarks, such as uptime and availability.
• Report Issues: If an HP fails to meet its obligations, oracles report the incident, leading to penalties like reduced rewards or forfeited collateral.
• Maintain Trust: By holding HPs accountable, oracles ensure SPs can offer high-quality services.

How Are Oracles Rewarded? SLA Oracles receive ICN Tokens for accurate and timely reporting. Their rewards depend on their performance, ensuring fairness and transparency.

Why Should You Join as an Oracle? SLA Oracles play a vital role in maintaining trust and transparency within the ICN ecosystem. Their rewards are tied to their reliability, making this role both essential and lucrative.

How the Roles Work Together

Consider this real-world example of how these roles interact:

• HPs contribute storage and computing resources to ICN.
• SPs request these resources to deliver cloud services to users worldwide.
• SLA Oracles monitor HPs, ensuring services run smoothly. If an HP fails, oracles report it, protecting SPs and maintaining trust.

This collaboration forms a self-sustaining ecosystem where all participants benefit.

Ready to Be Part of ICN?

Whether you’re an HP ready to monetize your resources, an SP developing the next big cloud service, or an SLA Oracle ensuring network reliability, ICN welcomes you to join and help shape the future of decentralized infrastructure.