> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.orbisprotocol.com/orbis/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.orbisprotocol.com/orbis/design-considerations/data-availability.md). # Data Availability Data availability relates to the problem of how nodes in a network can be certain that a new block has been produced and that all the data in that block have been published to the entire network. This plays a major role in the consensus and liveness of the system. Data availability allows block producers to be held accountable for the data they post to the network and for creating new blocks and updating the consensus. ## Validiums Both rollups and validiums are L2 protocols that post validity proofs to the mainchain to be verified by an on-chain verifier contract. The difference is that rollups for data availability solutions have all data stored on-chain, and those for validiums have data stored off-chain. Which introduces additional security and trust assumptions to the system architecture outside the L1 mainchain protocol. Orbis will be launching first as a validium with an off-chain data storage solution and then transitioning toward a rollup with minimal trust assumptions after data availability on Cardano has evolved. The on-rollup block header data alongside the on-rollup UTxO balances and their corresponding authorized signing keys will be posted and stored on-chain in the rollup UTxO, which is the verifier contract. The current rollup state and on-rollup transaction history will be stored off-chain in a fully distributed database. --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com. ## Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter, and the optional `goal` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.orbisprotocol.com/orbis/design-considerations/data-availability.md?ask=&goal= ``` `ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. `goal` is optional and describes the broader end goal you are ultimately trying to accomplish on behalf of the user. GitBook uses it to tailor the answer towards what is most useful for that goal. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.