A Serverless Web

The existing Web is formed of servers and clients. Clients request data and servers provide it.

The Autonomi Protocol does not use this client-server model. Instead stored data is spread across a network that’s made up of the spare computing resources of contributing users. When a request for some content is made, a message goes out across the Network and machines that hold the constituent parts of that content—the nodes—return them to the requester, the client

Keeping it Simple

Autonomi is comprised of its users' machines (nodes) linked together by node software which routes data and messages securely between them. These machines provide the Network's storage by allocating a portion of their hard drives for this purpose—and earning the Network's token currency in return.

So, the Protocol considers two basic components: nodes and clients. You don't have to run a node to use the Network any more than you have to run a web server to use the Web. Client software allows users to create a secure, private data store, and browse the Network securely and anonymously without being part of the Network.

A single computer can run both node and client software at the same time.

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Autonomous Network (MaidSafe white paper, 2010)