rjflp
commented
8 years ago If we allow objects to remain stored forever, the DHT will grow unbound in size. However, given that the private key required for updating the DHT must be kept secret, using it often may reduce its safety and is not convenient.
I currently see 3 possibilities:
- Allow objects to remain forever in the DHT, which will grow unbound
- Impose the use of soft-state. Objects must be periodically refreshed.
- Allow each object to specify its own timeout. This would be more flexible for applications? We could also set a default and maximum timeout.
sgoendoer
In a large database like the one we are about to create, data usually as an expiration date. This prevents the database size from continuously increasing if we fail do delete old data. This is usually referred to as "soft-state": data has to be periodically republished to prevent it from disappearing.
In our usage scenario, we cannot have an expiration period of only a few hours. But we should consider using an expiration period, even if it is of years. Perhaps the expiration date could be set by the publisher of the entry, with a maximum period enforced.