ArcBlock releases ABT Node Release Candidate 1 (RC1) with new features and enhancements to simplify and accelerate dApp development workflows.

Introducing ABT Node RC1

ArcBlock has officially released ABT Node Release Candidate 1 (RC1) taking another step towards its goal of transforming blockchain development and giving developers better building blocks to create modern blockchain software.

“Release Candidate” means ABT Node is ready for production development and use, yet we planning additional updates and incorporating feedback in our upcoming versions from our partners and developer community.

ABT Node goes beyond a typical “blockchain node”, it’s a fully-featured “developer-friendly” and “cloud-friendly” dApps platform that includes the support of modern blockchain technology. Starting today, developers can deploy blockchain nodes, smart contracts, application logic and beyond all through the ABT Node with zero hassle.

ArcBlock has firmly positioned ABT Node as the centerpiece of the ArcBlock Platform, and it was created to help developers simplify and accelerate their development workflows to help them get their dApps to market faster and more efficiently. ABT Node includes an integrated runtime and framework using serverless computing and microservices architecture to reduce the effort, time, and complexity of running scalable and modern blockchain applications.

With new features that no other platform can provide today, ABT Node is the first fully decentralized and intrinsically secure platform that leverages a decentralized identity system for user access, security and configuration. ABT Node is light enough to run on low-power cloud instances or embedded devices and can support enterprise use cases including team management, dynamic routing, and multi-location deployments.

Available Now

ABT Node is immediately available through the Amazon Web Services marketplace, or to install locally on any device in a few simple steps.

For previous users of the technical preview, ABT Node 1.0 RC1 introduces several breaking changes from the previous release, so we highly recommend the current beta version users backup the existing data and make a new initialization.

What’s New: Routing Engine

A new feature being offered for the first time with ABT Node RC1 is ArcBlock’s new Routing Engine: A user friendly, but powerful, routing tool that developers can use to create custom routing rules for their application(s) and ABT Node, enable domain pathing using specific URLs and IP addresses, as well as setting rules for individual blocklets and services running on the ABT Node.

The new Routing Engine is user friendly and promotes secured connections by default with a new option to install SSL certificates with this release. In the future, ABT Node will include even more powerful automated SSL certificate installation and renewal and extend the routing engine with new rules capabilities to leverage external load balancers (e.g. AWS Application Load Balancer or Elastic Load Balancer) and CDN providers (e.g. AWS Cloudfront, etc.)

With the new Routing Engine, developers can provide consumer-friendly dApps experiences through today's web browsers and mobile apps, and combines multiple Blocklets as service components to give users a more seamless experience.

ArcBlock's vision has always been to give developers a platform that enables developers to create end-user experiences where decentralized apps work just like traditional web and mobile apps. In doing so, developers are able to leverage the latest capabilities and features of blockchain technologies and deliver a superior app experience when compared to traditional mobile and web apps.

Decentralized Identity (DID) as first-class citizen

ABT Node is the only blockchain platform that offers a ready-made W3C DID compatible and future proof Decentralized Identity services out the box. ABT Node includes tools, libraries, and reusable components to make it easy to create and use digital identities rooted in ArcBlock's blockchains. Unlike other platforms, any decentralized identity created is automatically interoperable across all ArcBlock created networks, applications, and services.

Blocklets

A revolutionary new capability for developers is ArcBlock's Blocklets. With Blocklets, developers have simple tooling and standardized packaging for DApps, components and services, and ArcBlock’s core Blocklets have all been updated to take advantage of ABT Node’s newest features including custom domain routing. Blocklets can be installed in a single click and run independently on ABT Node or be combined with other Blocklets to add new functionality to any project. Because of its serverless design, Blocklets are able to run anywhere consistently on any infrastructure mitigating the typical dependency challenges developers encounter on traditional platforms.

Blocklet Marketplace

To help users find, use and share Blocklets, ABT Node features a Marketplace that hosts ready-made Blocklets including open source tools, ArcBlock's blockchain manager, games, website builders, backend services like AWS QLDB and much more. With the marketplace, users can easily share their newly created Blocklets, or use Blocklets from the marketplace to extend the capabilities of ABT Node or project in just a few clicks.

Learn More

ABT Node is transforming how developers create, deploy and manage DApps and blockchains by giving developers features and tools that no other platform can provide. To get started with ABT Node, or to learn more, simply visit the ArcBlock website or follow these simple tutorials to get your ABT Node up and running.

About ArcBlock

ArcBlock is transforming the way blockchain-enabled applications and services are developed, managed and deployed by reimaging how these services are going to be created in the years ahead. ArcBlock comprises a team of industry experts, developers, technologists, and leaders who are focused on creating successful outcomes by enabling teams and businesses to create blockchain-ready services around their needs. ArcBlock has created a powerful but easy to use development platform that utilizes the power of blockchain in combination with cloud computing that allows developers and businesses to achieve their goals successfully. Follow ArcBlock on Twitter @arcblock_io.