What is sharding and how does it work in Zilliqa?
Sharding is a type of database partitioning that splits large databases into smaller, faster, and more easily managed parts called shards.
It is a method of horizontal partitioning in which data is divided into smaller chunks or “shards” across multiple nodes. This allows for increased scalability and performance as the load on the database can be distributed across multiple nodes. In Zilliqa, sharding works by dividing the network into several smaller groups called shards.
Each shard processes its own transactions in parallel with other shards, allowing for higher throughput and faster transaction processing times. The network is also designed to be resilient to malicious attacks by using a consensus protocol that requires two-thirds of the network to agree on any changes before they are implemented. The Zilliqa blockchain uses a hybrid consensus mechanism which combines Proof-of-Work (PoW) and Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance (PBFT).
PoW is used to elect a leader node for each shard who will then coordinate the consensus process within that shard. PBFT is used to reach consensus between all the shards in order to finalize transactions and add them to the blockchain. This hybrid approach allows for greater scalability and security than traditional PoW or PBFT alone.
