DistributedArchitectures

Architecture

Status and Roadmap

Benefits

Drawbacks

Single Server

This is the architecture used in current Ripple implementations.

Easier Implementation: Does not require communication via Ripple-Protocol witch is not fully defined at the moment.

Requires a central server trusted by every user.

Network of servers

This architecture is seen as a future objective of Ripple-project. A lot of work has already been done on Ripple-Protocol.

Does not require a central server trusted by every user, instead smaller servers may be used and trusted by local communities.

Peer to Peer

P2P architecture is generally considered more problematic than "Network of Servers".

The user needs to trust only his personal device: PC or Mobile.

The user most likely won't be able to maintain a constant network connection, nor maintain their own data reliably (backup, etc.).