Hyperledger Fabric vs Hyperledger Iroha: What are the differences?

Introduction

In the world of blockchain technology, Hyperledger Fabric and Hyperledger Iroha are two prominent platforms. Understanding the key differences between these two platforms is essential for deciding which one best suits your needs.

1. Consensus Mechanism: Hyperledger Fabric employs a more flexible and customizable consensus mechanism, allowing users to choose from various algorithms such as Kafka, Solo, and Raft. On the other hand, Hyperledger Iroha uses the YAC (Yet Another Consensus) algorithm, which is a Byzantine Fault Tolerance consensus mechanism designed for high-performance and low-latency operations.

2. Permission Model: Hyperledger Fabric provides a robust permissioned network model, allowing for fine-grained control over access rights and roles within the network. In contrast, Hyperledger Iroha utilizes a simplistic permission model, which provides a more straightforward approach to managing permissions but may lack the granularity needed for complex enterprise networks.

3. Smart Contracts Language: Hyperledger Fabric supports smart contracts written in Go, JavaScript, or Java, offering flexibility to developers with different language preferences. Hyperledger Iroha, on the other hand, only supports smart contracts written in C++, which may limit accessibility to developers who are not proficient in this language.

4. Scalability: Hyperledger Fabric has been designed with scalability in mind, allowing organizations to scale their networks horizontally by adding more nodes to handle increased transaction throughput. In contrast, Hyperledger Iroha focuses on providing a lightweight and efficient platform suitable for mobile and IoT devices, which may impact its scalability for larger enterprise applications.

5. Use Cases: Hyperledger Fabric is well-suited for complex enterprise use cases that require customizable consensus mechanisms, fine-grained permission control, and support for multiple smart contract languages. On the other hand, Hyperledger Iroha is often preferred for simpler use cases that prioritize high performance, low latency, and simplicity in permission management and smart contract development.

6. Community and Ecosystem: Hyperledger Fabric has a larger and more established community with a broader range of resources, tools, and support available to users. Hyperledger Iroha, being a newer project, may have a smaller community and ecosystem, potentially impacting the availability of resources and support for users.

In Summary, the key differences between Hyperledger Fabric and Hyperledger Iroha lie in their consensus mechanisms, permission models, smart contracts languages, scalability, target use cases, and community ecosystems.