General
Q: What can I do with Amazon Managed Blockchain (AMB)?
With AMB, you can more easily join public networks or create private networks across multiple AWS accounts with open-source frameworks, Hyperledger Fabric and Ethereum. These blockchain frameworks help network members securely transact and share data on a distributed and immutable ledger. Additionally, you can configure voting rules for your network so members can democratically govern it (like voting on who to invite to join).
Q: How do I get started with Amazon Managed Blockchain?
To get started with AMB, go to the AWS Management Console and select Amazon Managed Blockchain. Then select "Create a network" or “Access a network.” Follow the network creation wizard to create your first network and member, and then invite other AWS accounts to join. Alternatively, follow the join network wizard to join a public network, and then provision nodes to interact with the network.
For step-by-step instructions, see Get Started Creating a Hyperledger Fabric Blockchain Network Using Amazon Managed Blockchain and Get Started with Ethereum in the Amazon Managed Blockchain documentation.
Q: How do I access AMB?
You can access AMB from the AWS Management Console, AWS Command Line Interface (AWS CLI), or AWS SDK.
Q: What is a blockchain network?
Blockchain is a technology that makes it possible to build applications where multiple parties can record transactions without the need for a trusted central authority to ensure that transactions are verified and secure. Blockchain enables this by establishing a peer-to-peer network (a blockchain network) where each participant in the network has access to a shared ledger where the transactions are recorded. These transactions are, by design, immutable and independently verifiable.
Q: What is the difference between AMB and Amazon Quantum Ledger Database (Amazon QLDB)?
Amazon QLDB is a ledger database purpose-built for customers who need to maintain a complete and verifiable history of data changes in an application that they own and manage in a centralized way. QLDB is not a blockchain. Instead, blockchain technologies focus on enabling multiple parties to transact and share data securely in a decentralized way—without a trusted, central authority. With AMB, customers can build on both public and private blockchains.
Q: What is the difference between the AMB Access Hyperledger Fabric, Ethereum, and Bitcoin offerings?
AMB Access offers two distinct types of blockchain infrastructure services: multi-tenant blockchain network access APIs and dedicated blockchain nodes and networks. With dedicated blockchain infrastructure, you can create and use public Ethereum blockchain nodes and private Hyperledger Fabric blockchain networks for your own use only. Multi-tenant, API-based offerings, however, such as AMB Access for Bitcoin, are composed of a fleet of Bitcoin nodes behind an API layer where the underlying blockchain node infrastructure is shared among various customers.
Pricing and availability
Q: How is AMB priced?
There is no up-front commitment with AMB. For managed blockchain infrastructure on AMB Access, you pay for the resources that you use, such as hourly costs for compute instances, storage costs per GB, and your request volume. For API-driven services such as AMB Query, you pay for usage based on the specific API called and volume of requests to that API.
See Amazon Managed Blockchain Pricing for more information.
