The Decentralization Dilemma: Performance Trade-Offs in IPFS and Breakpoints

Web 3.0 is redefining the current Web (Web 2.0) with a focus on data and governance decentralization. The InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) exemplifies this shift. However, it faces a trade-off between decentralization and performance: prior studies have shown IPFS's performance degradations but fail to diagnose root causes or deliver actionable fixes. In this study, we present a comprehensive client-side measurement of IPFS performance, identify key bottlenecks, and propose practical enhancements. The key insights of our study are threefold. First, IPFS suffers from significantly lower (~ 8×) throughput than HTTP, primarily due to its sequential downloading pattern imposed by its default block exchange protocol, Bitswap. By enhancing Bitswap, we manage to increase IPFS's downloading throughput by up to 2.23× for large files. Second, Bitswap's sequential downloading pattern limits parallel data retrieval from multiple sources and prevents BBR congestion control from fully leveraging its throughput optimization potential in lossy networks. Third, Bitswap supersedes DHT as IPFS's primary content discovery tool, resolving >80% of requests. Meanwhile, the reliability of DHT is hampered by unresponsive peers, causing delays or failures. Fine-tuning the activation threshold of DHT could optimize lookup efficiency as we demonstrate.