Blockchain VS. Big data Part 2

What is the main difference?

Big data is usually used to describe how large the data set is, and it is impossible to deal with in a traditional way.However, the loading information capacity of Blockchain is limited, which is still far away to the standard of “Big data”. There are several significant difference between Blockchain and big data:

• Structured vs Unstructured: Blockchain is a structured defined block, which formed by the pointer, the typical structured data, and big data need to deal with more unstructured data;
• Independence vs Integration: To ensure the security of Blockchain system, the information is relatively independent, and big data is focused on the integration of information analysis;
• Direct vs Indirect: Blockchain system itself is a database, and big data refers to the deep data analysis and data mining, which is an indirect data;
• Math vs Data: Blockchain trying to use mathematics to verify that code is the law, and big data trying to use data to verify;
• Anonymous vs Individual: Blockchain is anonymous( open ledger, anonymous owners, the open account with respect to the traditional financial institutions, account confidentiality), and big data is intended to personalize;

Whether the difference can be reconciled?、

For a distributed system, exsisting CAP theorem, also called Brewer’s theorem, it is pointed out that a distributed system cannot satisfy the following three points:

• Consistence: All the backup data in the distributed system, whether the same value at the same time.
• Avaliability: After a part of nodes failed, whether the whole cluster can respond to the client’s read and write requests.
• Partition tolerance: If some nodes in the cluster are unable to communicate with each other, whether the whole cluster can continue to provide service.

Due to the issues of packet delay and loss for the current network hardware, and the partition tolerance is needed. In other words, CAP indicates that we must show the trade-offs between consistency and availability.

Specific to the Blockchain and Big data, big data is to sacrifice consistence in exchange for availability and partition tolerance, while Blockchain gives the priprity to ensure consistency.