1. LayerChain: A Hierarchical Edge-Cloud Blockchain for Large-Scale Low-Delay Industrial Internet of Things Applications
- Author
-
Yao Yu, Branka Vucetic, Shumei Liu, Yonghui Li, and Phee Lep Yeoh
- Subjects
Blockchain ,business.industry ,Computer science ,Distributed computing ,020208 electrical & electronic engineering ,Cloud computing ,02 engineering and technology ,Computer Science Applications ,Tree (data structure) ,Control and Systems Engineering ,Node (computer science) ,Scalability ,0202 electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering ,Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution ,Electrical and Electronic Engineering ,business ,Edge computing ,Information Systems ,Block (data storage) - Abstract
The combination of pervasive edge computing and blockchain technologies opens up significant possibilities for industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) applications, but there are several critical limitations regarding efficient storage and rapid response for large-scale low-delay IIoT scenarios. To address these limitations, in this article we propose a hierarchical edge-cloud blockchain called LayerChain . Specifically, to promote scalability, we design a layered structure to hierarchically store the blockchain data in multiple distributed clouds and edge nodes. Next, we propose a node classification method to accommodate differences between the edge nodes when deploying the blockchain. Moreover, to mitigate lengthy delays during block propagation, we propose a tree-based clustering algorithm where blocks are propagated through different clusters with a compressed tree depth. Simulation results show that our LayerChain efficiently reduces the system's resource requirements and block propagation time, making it well-suited for large-scale low-delay IIoT applications.
- Published
- 2021