# Welcome

Welcome to AR.IO!

The AR.IO ecosystem is dedicated to cultivating products and protocols for sustaining access to digital permanence, making the permaweb available to everyone. Powered by the IO Token, this global network of Gateways connects users to permanently stored data, files, applications, and web pages on the Arweave decentralized storage network.

The AR.IO Network consists of:

  • Decentralized, independently operated, gateway nodes
  • The IO Token
  • The ArNS Domain Name System
  • Token incentive structures
  • A community of digital permanence pioneers

AR.IO Gateways are customizable, modular, and scalable. They are built for the Arweave permanent data storage network and optimized for:

  • data retrieval
  • caching
  • serving
  • indexing transactions

Arweave Name System (ArNS): Simplifying Permaweb Navigation

One of the exciting features within the AR.IO ecosystem is the Arweave Name System (ArNS). ArNS is a censorship-resistant naming system stored on Arweave, enabling user-friendly domain names that link to permaweb dApps, web pages, data, and identities. It functions like a permissionless address book for the entire permaweb. Each AR.IO gateway serves as an ArNS Name resolver, ensuring fast and efficient access.

Join us now and experience the full potential of the permaweb with AR.IO!