Does Walrus offer permanent storage?

Walrus is a decentralized storage protocol developed by Mysten Labs, the team behind Sui.

With Sui as its coordination layer, Walrus supports a wide range of use cases, including long-term storage.

Let’s take a closer look at how Walrus approaches long-term storage.

How long can data be stored on Walrus?

On Walrus, data is stored in storage epochs.

The maximum duration that can be purchased upfront is two years. Users can ensure their data remains safely stored on Walrus by prepaying for this period.

For long-term storage beyond two years, users must extend the lifetime of their data. 

This can be done in two ways.

Manual Renewal

Users can extend the lifetime of their data by submitting a Sui transaction to acquire more storage resources.

Automated Renewal

Sui smart contracts can automate renewals, allowing users to prepay for additional storage epochs to ensure long-term storage.

Automated renewal is ideal for perpetual storage as users can fund the smart contract for however many years makes sense, ensuring their data remains on Walrus without ongoing or limited maintenance.

Can data be deleted?

In addition to choosing how long to store data, users also need to decide whether their data can be deleted before the storage period ends.

Walrus can have two types of blobs: deletable and non-deletable.

Deletable blobs can be removed before their expiration, and free up storage space for reuse.

Non-deletable blobs remain available for the full prepaid period and cannot be removed early.

For long-term storage, non-deletable blobs guarantee storage and censorship resistance. Since they cannot be deleted, users can easily prove availability onchain.

Key takeaways

• Walrus does not offer permanent storage by default, but it provides the flexibility to achieve long-term data storage.

• Users can prepay for up to two years at a time, with the option to extend it indefinitely through smart contracts.

• Non-deletable blobs enhance storage reliability by guaranteeing data remains stored on Walrus for the entire prepaid period.

While we’ve covered the essentials, here are a few additional topics worth exploring.

Will storage costs affect the prepaid duration?

A common concern is whether rising storage costs could shorten a blob’s prepaid duration.

Contract prices are fixed, so users don’t need to worry about fluctuations during the lifetime of their contract. Only at renewal do cost changes come into play.

Historical trends suggest storage costs tend to decrease over time as shown in the graph below.

As storage costs continue to decline, your upfront payment could cover an even longer duration when the contract renews.

Walrus unlocks flexible funding models

Since Walrus uses Sui as its coordination layer, individuals, communities, and projects can collaborate to keep data accessible for years to come.

An NFT project could prepay for 2 years of storage, then rely on its community or holders to continue funding the smart contract to maintain data on Walrus.

A public archive could be maintained through community contributions.

By leveraging Sui, Walrus makes collaborative, long-term storage possible, allowing data to be sustained by the communities that need it.

Will Tusky offer long-term storage?

Yes, Tusky plans to introduce long-term storage, allowing users to prepay and define a storage period for each upload.

This gives users full control over how long their data remains stored, with the flexibility to extend it as needed.