Today marks a major paradigm shift for ARK. ARK Deployer (alpha) is now live,
giving everyone the power to create a customized blockchain in minutes using an
intuitive graphical user interface. With ARK Deployer and the documentation hub,
more people than ever can now harness the power of the ARK Ecosystem and
leverage the potential of blockchain technology.
ARK Deployer** is here!** With the official release
of ARK Deployer (alpha), users can now set up their own fully customized
blockchains with the help of an easy to use graphical interface. Not only does
this release mark a major new milestone in our development, it also serves as
the culmination of everything we have been building. ARK Deployer is a critical
component of the ARK Blockchain Platform and we are proud to finally get it into
your hands!
Dive into ARK Deployer here:
https://deployer.ark.io
Meet ARK Deployer
ARK Deployer offers a stark contrast to other offerings in the industry. By
combining an effortless graphical user interface with battle-tested guides and
procedures, you can create, customize, and launch a blockchain, even if you’ve
never worked with blockchains before.
By utilizing ARK Deployer, you gain a fully functioning, standalone blockchain,
not just a token or smart contract. Your new blockchain can be molded to fit
your specific industry or use-case through our extensible, modular
infrastructure. Our platform includes access to well over a dozen SDKs, flexible
Typescript plugins, and an ever-expanding catalog of custom transaction types to
implement within any project or service.
Our goal from the start was to lower the barrier to entry within the blockchain
industry and develop solutions that could be used by any project, regardless of
its background. We believe that the launch of ARK Deployer brings us one step
closer to that lofty goal.
How Does the Process Work?
There are three steps in the process: Prepare, Customize, and
Deploy.
**Prepare. **In this stage, you will use the ARK Deployer Hub to follow simple
guides and procedures. Topics include:
- How to design your ideal network.
- How to create and connect to servers.
- How to configure GitHub in preparation for launch.
Virtual private server (VPS) providers such as Digital
Ocean make it easy to create secure, affordable
nodes without the need for expensive hardware. Anyone with a basic technical
background can do it!
**Customize. **In this stage, also known as the fun part, you will use ARK
Deployer to configure your new chain’s properties. Use buttons and sliders along
with helpful tooltips to make your way through the process in a snap. To make
things even simpler, there are three levels of customization available to you:
- Basic. Receive a blockchain with properties just like the ARK Public
Network, and customize identity variables like chain name, ticker symbol, and
more. - Intermediate. Additionally customize variables relating to the economic
model, like block rewards, fee structure, forging delegate count, and block
time. - Advanced. Customize additional variables like server ports and database
paths.
Regardless of the level you choose, you will always have the option to “Use
Default” for any individual variable, to speed things up (with the exception of
the first step, naming your blockchain). Moreover, whichever level you choose
will result in a full-featured blockchain.
**Deploy. **With preparations made and blockchain parameters configured, it’s
time to deploy your blockchain in the form of a genesis node and peers. The
ARK Deployer Hub will guide you through the steps and show you how to:
- Deploy your chain onto the genesis node.
- Test and manage your genesis node.
- Interact with GitHub.
- Add seed peers to your network.
- Add your chain to the ARK Desktop Wallet.
- Add live forging delegates to your network.
But Wait, There’s More!
Your new chain does not stand alone. You will receive the benefits from a host
of features and peripherals right from genesis block and beyond.
- Configurations for 3 networks included: Testnet, Devnet, and Mainnet.
- Intuitive blockchain explorer built into your deployment.
- Instant compatibility with the beautiful desktop and mobile wallets.
- Access to 12+ programming languages and SDKs.
- The ability to deploy decentralized Typescript applications.
- Access to help and support with the upcoming Powered by ARK Program.
Click here for the full stack of
presentation slides from Consensus 2019 NYC
What’s Next For the Deployer?
We have big plans for ARK Deployer. As the centerpiece of the ARK Blockchain
Platform, the Deployer will have a dedicated team to extend its capabilities and
provide for a wide range of new features. Not only will your blockchain benefit
from our entire suite of applications — ARK Core, Desktop and Mobile Wallets,
and ARK Explorer — but we also plan to vastly expand the ARK Ecosystem of
Modules and Plugins, making your blockchain more extensible over time.
Here are a few examples of some of the updates we have planned:
- Custom Module Marketplace — Discover new and exciting customizations that
can be implemented into your blockchain through an easy-to-use marketplace. Are
you a developer? Build and list your own modules within the marketplace! - **One-Click Deployment **— ARK Deployer is easy to use, but we think we can make
it even easier. By partnering with hosting solutions, we can provide a one-click
deployment phase, providing automation to the final steps of the deployment
process. - Bridgechain Registration — Register your bridgechain on the ARK network and
enable auto-discovery in our suite of applications and services. Join the
community to help build and promote the entire ARK Ecosystem together! - Powered by ARK Program — Gain expanded support and access to the ARK.io Team
including joint development, grants, cross-promotion, and more.
Learn more about these upcoming features in the ARK Consensus NYC 2019 video
presentation, viewable
here (in the ‘Construct’
section, at ~24:45).
Found some bugs, having issues or want to request a new feature?
**Open a GitHub issue on:
**https://github.com/arkecosystem/deployer/issues
Thanks to the Community
The ARK community is a driving force for everything that we do. One of the
reasons we are so passionate about ARK is that we enable and empower developers
from all walks of life to harness the power of blockchain technology. With the
release of ARK Deployer, a major obstacle to getting started has been removed.
Many hard-working team members contributed to this achievement, and we would all
like to give the community our deepest thanks for your support and
encouragement.
Hey, what about the final Q1 item?
ARK had three major roadmap items with an expected
release of Q1 2019 (two are now completed). With the alpha release of ARK
Deployer in the rear view mirror, ARK is now focusing on putting final touches
on a brand new website that is informative, dynamic, and of course, very
pleasing to the eye. The website will literally come to life with live
integrations to things like our GitHub and new Tier 0 Program. Team members from
all departments have been actively collaborating on this major roadmap item, and
we will be releasing previews and teasers throughout the next few weeks leading
up to the launch. Be sure to stay tuned for our next major roadmap item release,
coming Soon™.
Follow us on social media ( Twitter | Facebook | Reddit | YouTube), join our community ( Slack | Discord ) and stay tuned to our blog on Medium.