Getting started with IBM Blockchain Platform

IBM Blockchain Platform provides a managed and full stack blockchain-as-a-service (BaaS) offering that allows you to deploy blockchain components in environments of your choice. Clients can build, operate, and grow their blockchain networks with an offering that can be used from development through production.

Before using an IBM Blockchain Platform offering, read the technical and support information in the Disclaimer section.

Which IBM Blockchain Platform offering is right for your business?

IBM Blockchain Platform provides different offerings allows deployment to your network in the environment of your choice. Decide between IBM Blockchain Platform 2.5.1 or IBM Blockchain Platform for IBM Cloud.

	IBM Blockchain Platform for anywhere (2.5.1)	IBM Blockchain Platform for IBM Cloud
Where to deploy the platform?	Multiple Kubernetes distributions on a private, public, or hybrid multicloud See Supported Platforms	A Kubernetes cluster on IBM Cloud See Supported configuration
What are deployment options?	Full platform Only IBM Blockchain images	Full platform
How is it billed?	Contact us for pricing	$0.29 USD per allocated CPU hour
Can I connect with peers in other clouds?	Yes	Yes
Can my data center be on-prem and behind a firewall?	Yes	No
Can I use a console UI to deploy and manage my blockchain components?	Yes	Yes
Are APIs available for node management?	Yes	Yes
Does the product integrate with the IBM Blockchain Platform VSCode extension to develop and test my smart contracts?	Yes	Yes
I am an experienced Fabric customer. Are peer, CA, orderer, and smart contract images available and supported?	Yes	No
Where can I learn more?	About IBM Blockchain Platform 2.5.1	About IBM Blockchain Platform for IBM Cloud
Ready to get started?	Step one: Install the IBM Blockchain Platform	Getting started with IBM Blockchain Platform for IBM Cloud

Have questions and want to speak to an IBM Blockchain Platform expert? Schedule a consult now to learn more about how blockchain can transform your business.

Developer Tools

• Developers can start with a free VS Code extension IDE that provides an explorer and commands accessible from the command palette for developing smart contracts quickly. Install it locally or run it from the cloud by using Red Hat CodeReady Workspaces.

IBM Blockchain images

• Your purchase of IBM Blockchain Platform 2.5.1 includes an entitlement to images for

  peer,

  Certificate Authority,

  ordering service, and

  smart contract containers that are signed by IBM. The images are based on the open source Hyperledger Fabric code base and contain a number of enhancements for stability and serviceability. The images are bundled with support from IBM. The IBM Blockchain images do not include the IBM Blockchain management console or operator. This offering is intended for experienced Fabric users with existing Fabric deployments. See IBM Blockchain images for Hyperledger Fabric.

Next steps

After you deploy IBM Blockchain Platform in the environment of your choice, you can set up the network with consortium, nodes, channels, smart contracts, and start transactions on it. See the task topics under the HOW TO section in the left navigation of this documentation.

Getting support

IBM offers various support options on IBM-implemented blockchain solutions. For more information about IBM Blockchain Platform support, see Getting support.