PoolTool Sustaining

[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant

Mike Fullman

[GENERAL] Are you delivering this project as an individual or as an entity (whether formally incorporated or not)

Individual

[GENERAL] Requested funds in ada

60000

[GENERAL] Please specify how many months you expect your project to last (from 2-12 months)

12

[GENERAL] Please indicate if your proposal has been auto-translated into English from another language

No

[GENERAL] Summarize your solution to the problem (200-character limit including spaces)

Maintain/fund and support the pooltool platform to keep it operational for another year.

[GENERAL] Does your project have any dependencies on other organizations, technical or otherwise?

No

[GENERAL] If YES, please describe what the dependency is and why you believe it is essential for your project’s delivery. If NO, please write “No dependencies.”

No dependencies really. We rely on TxPipe's Oura in our current platform, but could easily work around that with any other number of solutions if required.

[GENERAL] Will your project’s output/s be fully open source?

Yes

[GENERAL] Please provide here more information on the open source status of your project outputs

I noticed Ogmios is covered under the "Mozilla Public License 2.0" and thus we will use the same.

[METADATA] Horizons

Infrastructure

[SOLUTION] Please describe your proposed solution

Pooltool is an existing platform that simply requires ongoing maintenance. Our platform engages with thousands of community members every month, mostly the pool operators, but many delegators also rely on our simple and stratightforward rewards. Some platforms have incorporated our Measured performance metrics in their own management of pools for various activities.

PoolTool has been a fundamental building block of the Cardano network since the ITN days. In Fund 10 we submitted a proposal to open source and sustain/support the platform for one year which was approved. That work (and the full year) are nearing completion. As such I'm requesting a modest amount of ADA to continue to support the platform.

The platform costs around $1000 per month to maintain just the servers. The majority of the cost is due to the live nature of the platform (firestore) and the 300+ pools that submit EVERY block to us for analysis and archiving purposes. In addition to the server costs, the platform requires quite a bit of effort to maintain on the latest node release.

This proposal seeks to fund both activities for a period of 12 months.

[IMPACT] Please define the positive impact your project will have on the wider Cardano community

As mentioned above, Pooltool continues to be a mainstay of the cardano ecosystem. Most would agree its one of the most straightforward platforms to use, we have no ads on the platform, and its completely open source. Our back end technology such as the live stake ledger state parser is unique and innovative.

[CAPABILITY & FEASIBILITY] What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability? How do you intend to validate if your approach is feasible?

I have been supporting the platform since the ITN days and will continue to do so.

[PROJECT MILESTONES] What are the key milestones you need to achieve in order to complete your project successfully?

Months 1,2,3:

1. PoolTool Operational as demonstrated by our uptime monitor here: https://stats.uptimerobot.com/GJzyBtWA4K
2. Pooltool is open source (as seen in the repositories)

Months 4,5,6:

1. PoolTool Operational as demonstrated by our uptime monitor here: https://stats.uptimerobot.com/GJzyBtWA4K
2. Pooltool is open source (as seen in the repositories)

Months 7,8,9:

1. PoolTool Operational as demonstrated by our uptime monitor here: https://stats.uptimerobot.com/GJzyBtWA4K
2. Pooltool is open source (as seen in the repositories)

Months 10,11,12:

1. PoolTool Operational as demonstrated by our uptime monitor here: https://stats.uptimerobot.com/GJzyBtWA4K
2. Pooltool is open source (as seen in the repositories)
3. Close out report

[RESOURCES] Who is in the project team and what are their roles?

Mike Fullman - team lead, primary developer

Leon - mobile application developer

[BUDGET & COSTS] Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources

60,000 ADA covers 12 months at 5,000 ADA per month. This includes all server costs and all normal maintenance of the platform.

[VALUE FOR MONEY] How does the cost of the project represent value for money for the Cardano ecosystem?

60,000 ADA to sustain a key component of the Cardano ecosystem is well worth the cost. If PoolTool falls into disrepair it will mark a major shift in the cardano community and infrastructure. While the ecosystem will well diversified at this point, the loss would be noted by many of the OG's and delegation community that have come to rely on the platform.