Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Learn about ConsenSys Quorum, its components, its business applications, and how to get started.
ConsenSys Quorum is an open-source protocol layer that enables enterprises to leverage Ethereum for their private or public production blockchain applications. Businesses can rely on ConsenSys Quorum to provide the enterprise-grade networks they need to unlock value with blockchain. On top of ConsenSys Quorum, you can integrate product modules from ConsenSys, third-party vendors, or your own in-house developers to build high-performance, customizable applications.
For more information about ConsenSys Quorum, visit the ConsenSys Quorum homepage.
ConsenSys Quorum consists of two open-source projects: one based on Hyperledger Besu and another on GoQuorum.聽
Hyperledger Besu Stack: Hyperledger Besu, Orion, EthSigner
- Hyperledger Besu is an open-source Ethereum client maintained by the Hyperledger community, including ConsenSys. Besu is Mainnet compatible, Java-based, Apache 2.0 licensed, and extensible through its Java plugin framework.
- Orion is a private transaction manager for the Hyperledger Besu client, developed under the Apache 2.0 license and written in Java.
- EthSigner is a client-agnostic Ethereum transaction signer written in Java and Apache 2.0 licensed. EthSigner offers private key storage and management by separating private key management from transaction validation.
GoQuorum Stack: GoQuorum, Tessera, EthSigner
- GoQuorum is an open-source Ethereum client maintained by ConsenSys. GoQuorum is Go-based and GPL licensed.
- Tessera is a private transaction manager for the GoQuorum client, developed under the Apache 2.0 license and written in Java.
- EthSigner is a client-agnostic Ethereum transaction signer written in Java and Apache 2.0 licensed. EthSigner offers private key storage and management by separating private key management from transaction validation.
Learn more about the open-source stacks that comprise ConsenSys Quorum.
ConsenSys Quorum Blockchain Service Support is a subscription-based support service providing developers and businesses with on-demand, developer, or production support for the Quorum open-source protocol projects, plus additional tooling and upgrades to ensure the success of your production system.
Hyperledger Besu is the Enterprise Ethereum client designed for either public or private permissioned network use cases. Built from scratch, Hyperledger Besu is Apache 2.0 licensed and written in Java. Hyperledger Besu is a project in Hyperledger and maintained by ConsenSys, among other institutions. Go here for more information.
GoQuorum is the Enterprise Ethereum client originally developed by J.P. Morgan Chase and previously referred to as 鈥淨uorum.鈥 It is a fork of Go-Ethereum (also known as Geth), which is a mainnet Ethereum client developed by the Ethereum Foundation. To differentiate between the ConsenSys Quorum open-source protocol layer and the Go-based Ethereum client, this client is being renamed as GoQuorum. At this point, the website and technical documentation have been updated to use GoQuorum. The GitHub repositories and codebase renaming still use the name Quorum.
ConsenSys Quorum projects are entirely open source, yes. The documentation and development of the open-source projects are maintained by ConsenSys, the engineering and infrastructure leader at the forefront of the enterprise blockchain ecosystem. The Hyperledger Besu client is also maintained by the Hyperledger Community.
On August 25th 2020, JP Morgan and ConsenSys announced the acquisition of the Quorum open-source codebase by ConsenSys. The announcement means that the management, development, and support of Quorum (now ConsenSys Quorum) will fall under ConsenSys along with continued collaboration with JP Morgan. JP Morgan will continue to be an active user and contributor of ConsenSys Quorum.
Immediately, there will be no impact on developers or businesses using ConsenSys Quorum. Existing GoQuorum and Hyperledger Besu developers will continue to be able to use the codebases, and businesses that have applications on top of Quorum will not experience any disruption to their service.
In the very near future, we will be adding additional functionality to Quorum, enhancing the developer experience, and providing value-added functionality further up the stack. We will make GoQuorum interoperable with Hyperledger Besu to create a unified Enterprise Ethereum protocol layer and we will continue rolling out tooling and support for developers.
Additionally, with this acquisition, we are rolling out a number of products and services on top of Quorum that any existing or new Quorum users can leverage. Product modules include digital asset management, KYC and compliance, data monitoring, payments, and more 鈥 provided by the Codefi product suite. ConsenSys offers support subscriptions to accelerate time to market and provide confidence in production networks. ConsenSys Quorum Support provides customer support, bug fixes, proactive issue identification, and a Customer Success Manager.
With Quorum, ConsenSys will expand its enterprise Ethereum offerings in three primary ways: 1) commitment to open source development, 2) aligned evolution and development for both private and public enterprise solutions, and 3) more robust production-grade product features on top of open-source codebases.聽
Commitment to Open Source Development
Under ConsenSys, ConsenSys Quorum will remain an open-source codebase with robust documentation maintained by the ConsenSys protocol engineering team. ConsenSys also offers support subscriptions for ConsenSys Quorum to accelerate time to market and provide confidence in production networks.聽
Private and Public Enterprise Solutions
With the acquisition, ConsenSys Quorum will align the development of both private-permissioned and mainnet-compatible enterprise solutions, enabling a more complete and robust evolution of blockchain technology among businesses. Learn more.
Production-Grade Features and Services
ConsenSys will develop a suite of products that run on the ConsenSys Quorum open-source protocol layer. These product modules enable a 鈥渕ix-and-match鈥 approach to enterprise applications, allowing businesses across industries to build highly customized solutions to fit specific needs.聽
Altogether, the acquisition of Quorum solidifies ConsenSys as the go-to source for enterprises seeking to learn more about, explore options for, and eventually build production-grade solutions that fit their business needs.
ConsenSys has built a suite of institutional product modules that can be used on top of the Quorum open-source protocol layer to build complete and production-ready business applications. The product features currently market-ready for deployment on top of Quorum include Codefi Orchestrate, Workflow, Assets, Markets, Payments, Compliance, and Data. Together, these product modules allow businesses across a variety of industries and use cases to 鈥渕ix and match鈥 the features they want to create a highly customizable and specific blockchain solution.
Learn more about our enterprise stack that can be built on top of Quorum.
ConsenSys Quorum Support is a subscription-based support service providing developers and businesses with on-demand, developer or production support for the Quorum open-source protocol projects, plus additional tooling and upgrades to ensure the success of your production system.
The GoQuorum codebase will remain open source and will be actively maintained by ConsenSys. As a new member of the ConsenSys product family, Quorum will now offer developers access to a wide range of support services provided by ConsenSys, from developer support to 24/7 production support.聽
Learn more about ConsenSys Quorum Support, our subscription-based support for building and maintaining blockchain solutions on Quorum.
Learn more about the ConsenSys Partner Program, one of the benefits of which is access to non-SLA developer support for partners.
If you are a current GoQuorum or Hyperledger Besu user and have concerns or need support, reach out to us.
Check out our official press release and blog post to learn more about the recent JP Morgan and ConsenSys announcement.
Many businesses are already building on or working with ConsenSys Quorum 鈥 some examples of Enterprise Ethereum applications can be found here. Specifically, the Covantis Initiative, Project Khoka with the SARB, and Project Ubin with MAS are all recent enterprise-grade solutions built on Quorum.
Businesses can now build market-ready applications from concept to production entirely within the ConsenSys technology stack. Quorum鈥檚 robust open-source protocol layer ensures compatibility with private permissioned and Mainnet networks as well as familiar products and tooling in the Ethereum ecosystem. Quorum and the interoperable Codefi product modules are customizable and use case agnostic, allowing businesses from a wide variety of industries to explore solutions that fit their specific needs.
Check out our documentation for the ConsenSys Quorum open-source protocol layer to get started. And please always reach out with questions or support requests if you need them.