What Is Hyperledger?
Let me explain Hyperledger to you directly: it's a global enterprise blockchain project that provides the framework, standards, guidelines, and tools you need to build open-source blockchains and related applications for various industries.
Under the Hyperledger umbrella, you'll find enterprise-ready permissioned blockchain platforms and plug-and-play options.
If you're a business, you can use these components to apply modular blockchain solutions and services, which will significantly improve your operations' performance and the efficiency of your business processes.
Key Takeaways
Hyperledger focuses on developing a suite of stable frameworks, tools, and libraries for permissioned, enterprise-grade blockchain deployments—it's an open-source community effort.
This is a global collaboration involving member organizations that lead in finance, banking, Internet of Things, supply chains, manufacturing, and technology.
You'll encounter several sub-projects, such as Hyperledger Fabric, Cello, Besu, and Caliper.
Hyperledger History
Hyperledger is a global collaboration including leading businesses from finance, banking, Internet of Things (IoT), supply chain management, manufacturing, production, and technology—think big names like Bosch, IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, Deloitte, Hitachi, American Express, JP Morgan, and Visa, plus blockchain startups like ConsenSys.
The project was created in December 2015 by the Linux Foundation, based in San Francisco, California; it started with 30 member firms and has grown to about 140 today.
We set up Hyperledger to accelerate industry-wide collaboration for developing high-performance, reliable blockchain and distributed ledger-based technology frameworks, which you can use across sectors to enhance efficiency, performance, and transactions in business processes.
How Hyperledger Works
Think of Hyperledger as an operating system that runs on a computer, laptop, other device, or network—similar to open-source Linux.
Linux is the underlying programming for many operating systems, and it's used more than proprietary systems for enterprise purposes; these can have different designs, user interfaces, and be fully customized.
Once you install a Linux operating system—or if your device comes with it—you choose the programs you want, perhaps a different browser or office suite over the defaults.
Hyperledger operates similarly: it's a system where you decide what you want based on your needs, so you can build using existing Hyperledger projects—these are like operating systems for specific purposes—with modules for various requirements.
Hyperledger Projects
Let me outline some key Hyperledger projects for you.
Key Hyperledger Projects
- Hyperledger Fabric is a platform for building various distributed ledger- and blockchain-based products, solutions, and applications for business use.
- Hyperledger Cello allows blockchain to be used through an on-demand “as-a-service” deployment model (Blockchain-as-a-Service).
- Hyperledger Besu is an Ethereum client that allows developers to create applications using Hyperledger that can access the Ethereum blockchain.
- Hyperledger Caliper is a blockchain benchmark tool that is used to evaluate the performance of a specific blockchain implementation.
Hyperledger Projects Continued
All projects under Hyperledger follow a design methodology that supports a modular and extensible approach, interoperability, and security features.
These projects stay agnostic to designing tokens or cryptocurrencies, though you can create one if required.
What Is a Hyperledger in Blockchain?
Hyperledger is the name of an open-source project sponsored by the Hyperledger Foundation; it provides a platform for you as a developer to create your own distributed ledger- and blockchain-related projects using preprogrammed modules.
Is Hyperledger Better Than Ethereum?
Comparing Hyperledger to Ethereum is like comparing apples to oranges: Ethereum is a public blockchain for transferring value and building applications, while Hyperledger gives you modularized options to build blockchains or distributed ledgers that fit your specific needs.
Is Hyperledger Owned by IBM?
IBM uses Hyperledger Fabric in its proprietary Blockchain Platform, but it does not own Hyperledger.
The Bottom Line
The Linux Foundation hosts the Hyperledger open-source collaborative project, which aims to provide business-grade blockchain frameworks and technologies.
You can build private, permissioned blockchain networks for various use cases, such as supply chain management and smart contracts; Hyperledger is known for its modular and adaptable solutions.
