Help needed for Bachelor Research! - (Block sizes)

[researcher101]

Hi!

I'm currently researching the use of blockchains in governmental situations, but there is something I don't quite understand about block sizes.

I understand that the block size will determine how many transactions that can be fit into a single block before it's full and appended to the blockchain. But let's imagine that we built a blockchain based on the usage and the processing of images, videos and documents for digital forensic purposes; what would a suitable block size be for that, if we're looking at a consortium-type blockchain?

If I understand this correctly, then if the block size is too small (less than 1MB), it would cause an image (let's say 100MB in size) to split/fragment? Or would the blockchain simply ignore any and all data of such great sizes? If the block size is too big (let's say 1GB), would I need to fill it up with ten images of this size (100MB) before it's appended to the blockchain?

I'd greatly appreciate if anyone could give me a hand with these questions.
Thanks!  

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[icroatt]

It depends on the blockchain and the functionality. Ethereum, for instance, implements the gas limit rather than the block size. This incentivizes miners and sets limits on the amount of processing that a miner will do before it gives up and denies the transaction. If you were looking to store documents and things on the blockchain, you would build a blockchain whose purpose it was to carry out those activities, rather than trying to store large amounts of data on a blockchain whose purpose is to be a store of value or dAPP platform.

You are essentially right that transactions that contain too much data or require too much processing will be flat out denied. The action you wish to carry out must be able to be stored in the one transaction, it won't be automatically split up and processed in fragments.

If you are interested in the storage of files and larger data, check out something like IPFS or Siacoin to see how they operate. Those are moreso the types of platforms you are looking for.

[researcher101]

It depends on the blockchain and the functionality. Ethereum, for instance, implements the gas limit rather than the block size. This incentivizes miners and sets limits on the amount of processing that a miner will do before it gives up and denies the transaction. If you were looking to store documents and things on the blockchain, you would build a blockchain whose purpose it was to carry out those activities, rather than trying to store large amounts of data on a blockchain whose purpose is to be a store of value or dAPP platform.

You are essentially right that transactions that contain too much data or require too much processing will be flat out denied. The action you wish to carry out must be able to be stored in the one transaction, it won't be automatically split up and processed in fragments.

If you are interested in the storage of files and larger data, check out something like IPFS or Siacoin to see how they operate. Those are moreso the types of platforms you are looking for.

Thank you so much for your answers!
These examples are great, will give them a read!

[squatter]

But let's imagine that we built a blockchain based on the usage and the processing of images, videos and documents for digital forensic purposes; what would a suitable block size be for that, if we're looking at a consortium-type blockchain?

If I understand this correctly, then if the block size is too small (less than 1MB), it would cause an image (let's say 100MB in size) to split/fragment?  Or would the blockchain simply ignore any and all data of such great sizes?

It depends on the consensus rules of your network. Based on Bitcoin's rules, a transaction so large would be rejected by the network completely because it's too large to fit into a block. You would need to manually split the data into small enough transactions (<1MB each) and then pay the appropriate fees for each transaction.

If the block size is too big (let's say 1GB), would I need to fill it up with ten images of this size (100MB) before it's appended to the blockchain?

In Bitcoin (and virtually all blockchains), the block size (or block weight) limit is just an upper bound. Miners can publish empty or partially-empty blocks if there aren't sufficient transactions to make full blocks.

[pooya87]

But let's imagine that we built a blockchain based on the usage and the processing of images, videos and documents for digital forensic purposes;

If I understand this correctly, then if the block size is too small (less than 1MB), it would cause an image (let's say 100MB in size) to split/fragment? Or would the blockchain simply ignore any and all data of such great sizes?

you say blockchain but you think bitcoin.
when you think about bitcoin and the way it is using blockchain technology then you are thinking about a currency and the blocks here are containing monetary transfers. and also it needs to be decentralized hence all the limitations,...

but when you say blockchain you are talking about a "database" where you store files so you shouldn't think bitcoin anymore, you should  think a chain-of-blocks where the blocks contain transactions which include files. there are already a couple of altcoins doing this "data storage" kind of thing. you should check them out:
https://filecoin.io/
https://storj.io/
https://www.maidsafe.net/
https://sia.tech/