Google announced Thursday the deployment of a cloud-based node engine service for Ethereum developers and projects.
Google's Blockchain Node Engine offering is a “fully managed service,” which means users will not have to engage their own teams to operate or monitor their nodes. Google, on the other hand, claims that it “actively monitors the nodes and restarts them if anything goes wrong.”
The Blockchain Node Engine also incorporates a number of security features, such as Google's Cloud Armor, which is intended to thwart denial-of-service (DDos) assaults that spam and slow down networks.
Google claims its nodes will also be protected by a VPC firewall, allowing users to specify which capabilities they want. Customers can also select the geographical location of their nodes.
Nodes, which are containers that run code for crypto networks, are a crucial Web3 building piece and are required for networks like Ethereum to function effectively. The more nodes a network has, the more decentralized, scalable, and secure it may become.
Bridge between the traditional IT industry and Web3
Google, which is already operating on a worldwide scale, is clearly aware of this fact and wishes to be a prominent participant in the Web3 infrastructure arena. Richard Widmann, Google's Head of Web3 Strategy, previously told a media outlet, that by offering such cloud-based services, he hopes to “create a great bridge” between the traditional IT industry and Web3.
Google stated, that Node Engines could help to reduce network disruptions. In cases where the underlying infrastructure fails, the more suppliers delivering high-quality node infrastructure, such as Google Cloud, the more redundancy Google have in place, and it is less likely that end users will experience disruption.
Increasing the number of nodes in a network can also help to increase the overall security of the network. Thousands of nodes around the world can serve as backups in the event that any nodes experience technical problems or are otherwise shut down.
While Google initially only supports Ethereum nodes, the company intends to expand its Node Engine service to new networks.
“We understand that other chains are gaining traction, and we intend to help some of them in the future,” Tromans (of Google) told a media outlet.
Blockchain technology a “tremendous breakthrough”
For those familiar with Google's views on crypto and Web3, this Node Engine announcement comes as no surprise. Google announced earlier this year that it has launched a team dedicated to digital assets and cloud-based Web3 services.
Google dubbed blockchain technology a “tremendous breakthrough” in January and announced plans to build node validators as a service and data hosting facilities for the blockchain histories of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, and Polygon, to name a few.
While Google's Node Engine launch is a significant step forward for Web3 infrastructure, some may be concerned about centralization. Widmann is aware of this potential, and he does not want Google to seize control of Web3.
“If everything runs on Google, I'll be the first to admit that's a problem,” Widmann added.