An Introduction to Crypto Mining Hardware
The purpose of this article is to introduce readers to the process of "mining." What does this term mean? How does one accomplish it? Why is mining important for the crypto space? This information will then be used to create an overview of the various types of crypto mining hardware that exist on the market today. I will follow up with a comparison between these different types of crypto mining hardware.
What is Mining?
Mining is a process where a cryptocurrency network validates and records transactions into blocks, which are then added to a chain to become part of the public ledger. This validation process requires miners to perform several computational steps in order to perform this process, including solving complex mathematical problems in exchange for bitcoins or other forms of cryptocurrency. followed by a hardware review and final verdict. In order to do this, we'll have to begin with a brief history lesson.
A brief history of the crypto world.
The earliest known use of a cryptography was by the Chinese and Greeks, who used it to develop trade postal system in order to send messages securely. The encryption that does this is called a "cipher." The word "cipher" has been adopted as the root for cryptography. However, during the Renaissance period, cryptography was virtually nonexistent as it had not yet taken off into its current grandeur. During this period, encryption was achieved by such methods as the use of secret writing. It wasn't until the early 19th century that cryptography became more widely used as it began to be adopted by scientists, mathematicians and scholars.
At this time in history, Friedrich Kasiski is credited as being the first major crypto system developer. This man's work in cryptography was groundbreaking and would pave the way for modern-day cryptography and computing. Later, in the mid 19th century and early 20th century, further advancements in cryptography occurred. These advancements consisted of the development of non-secret encryption (or publicly available encryption) and more advanced devices to be used for the generation of codes such as the UML ("Universal Multiple Lattice") topology.
It wasn't until World War II that cryptography would go mainstream due to incessant attacks on weak cryptographic systems (Enigma). This prompted Allied forces to create some of the world's first "hardware" encryption forms. These machines included the Abwehr Cryptograph, the Ultra-Tech Enigma and the Oscillator, Enigma Cryptosystems, NDR cipher machine. After World War II and into the late 20th century, encryption devices became increasingly more advanced. This was mainly due to the development of so-called "clients" that would work with a "server" (some of which included PCs). These clients and servers were called Encrypting Clients (EC) and Encryption Servers (ES).
As the 21st century began, cryptography began to take shape as a widely used technology. Some of the largest uses at this time were for internet security, which was mainly due to the use of SSL (HTTPS). This use would continue into the mid 2000s and early 2010s. Cryptography was not widely used until 2009 when Satoshi Nakamoto released his white paper on Bitcoin and blockchain technology.
