subchain [English]


InterPARES Definition

No definition in earlier IP projects. ITrust definition not yet developed.

Other Definitions

  • ISO TC307 N38 (United States). 2017. (†834 s.v. "High-level View of a Blockchain Network): Some blockchains support the concept of subchains, which are sometimes called channels. Subchains are logically separate chains that occupy the same physical blockchain. Each subchain may be owned by a different entity and may be accessible to a different set of users. Nodes may be set up so that some nodes participate in certain subchains and not in other subchains. The result of this configuration is that the ledger on some nodes will contain transactions for that subchain while the ledgers on other nodes will not. Another variation on the basic blockchain is one in which nodes are assigned specific purposes instead of being identical in their function. This configuration may be used to optimize the design for performance, since the system can be faster if every node does not have to perform every operation required for a transaction on the chain.