Table of Content

31 January 2020, Volume 38 Issue 1

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Invited Paper

Blockchain for Edge AI Computing: A Survey

FANG Junjie, LEI Kai

2020, 38(1):  1-21.  doi:10.3969/j.issn.0255-8297.2020.01.001

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Blockchain builds a distributed point-to-point system, which is widely used in the fields of financial economy, Internet of Things (IoT), big data, cloud computing and edge computing. Meanwhile, edge artificial intelligence (AI) computing refers to the emergence of swarm intelligence AI computing model for edge network application scenarios. Although featuring in the characteristics of high dynamic, ultra-low delay, resource limitation, data calculation decoupling in application scenarios of edge networks such as intelligent car, blockchain faces further challenges including cross-domain trust, privacy protection, intrusion monitoring and fine-grained incentives. Focusing on the trend of transforming the algorithm and application of AI from cloud centers to the edges of networks, this paper discusses the application of blockchain in the emerging edge AI computing research. We first introduce the infrastructure of blockchain and summarize related researches and application directions. Then, beginning with the concept and rise of edge AI computing, the application requirements of blockchain in edge AI computing are analyzed and discussed in detail, including relevant research review, application trend and future research direction. Additionally, we summarize the advantages of applicating blockchain in edge AI computing and the deficiencies need to be addressed in the future.

Blockchain

Blockchain in Internet of Things: Application and Challenges

HE Zhengyuan, DUAN Tiantian, ZHANG Ying, ZHANG Hanwen, SUN Yi

2020, 38(1):  22-33.  doi:10.3969/j.issn.0255-8297.2020.01.002

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Since the Internet of Things (IoT) technology has developed rapidly and been widely used in various fields, issues such as identity verification, data privacy, network security, that need to be considered by IoT will become more important in the distributed environment. And these problems can be effectively solved by introducing blockchain technology into IoT. In this paper, we briefly describe the basic concepts of blockchain and application scenarios of blockchain in the IoT, and review some current relevant research works, among which the works on underlying technologies of blockchain IoT and the problems and challenges faced in the blockchain IoT are emphasized. The work of this paper will provide reference value for the future researches of blockchain IoT.

A Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance Consensus Algorithm Based on Tree Topological Network

BAO Zhenshan, WANG Kaixuan, ZHANG Wenbo

2020, 38(1):  34-50.  doi:10.3969/j.issn.0255-8297.2020.01.003

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The practical Byzantine fault tolerance (PBFT) algorithm suffers its performance bottleneck in wide-area networks with a large number of nodes. In order to improve the scalability of the algorithm, we propose to divide the whole network consensus into several subnetwork consensus based on tree topology network. At the same time, a reputation model is introduced to reduce the influence of fault nodes in the consensus process and improve the security, fault tolerance and reliability of the system. Experimental results show that the performance of the proposed algorithm is significantly improved comparing with the original one, showing good scalability and applicability to large-scale permissioned blockchain system.

A Scalable Consensus Protocol Based on Equity Representation

LI Zhongcheng, HUANG Jianhua, TANG Ruicong, HU Qingchun, XIA Xu

2020, 38(1):  51-64.  doi:10.3969/j.issn.0255-8297.2020.01.004

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The difficulty in achieving dynamic balance of decentralization, security and scalability of blockchain systems lies in the design of efficient consensus mechanisms. In order to solve the bottleneck problem of security and performance faced by the consensus mechanisms in the existing blockchain systems, this paper proposes a delegate-based scalable consensus protocol (DSCP) based on equity representatives. First, DSCP uses the partition parallel consensus method to build a high-performance and scalable blockchain and generate a consensus block that is recognized by the entire network through a proxy mechanism. Then, in order to improve the network partition speed and the consensus performance during the partition, this paper proposes a fast partitioning mechanism based on VRF algorithm, and designs a voting-based partitioning high-performance consensus algorithm voting-based consensus protocol (VCP). At last, this paper also proposes a new incentive and deposit mechanism to enhance the security of the DSCP protocol. Experimental analysis shows that DSCP has a good performance advantage compared with the existing blockchain consensus protocols.

System of River Chief-Oriented Water Quality Information Certification Based on Blockchain

ZOU Xiuqing, LUO Decun, LIN Ping, SHEN Shiping, XIE Zhenping, WANG Yujue, DING Yong

2020, 38(1):  65-80.  doi:10.3969/j.issn.0255-8297.2020.01.005

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In this paper, the blockchain technology is applied to the water quality information management field of the river chief-oriented system, for solving the problems of data management centralization, non-openness, and opaque faced by traditional technologies. The river chief-oriented water quality information system is built with the enterprise-level open-source framework Hyperledger Fabric. It uploads the core water quality information to the blockchain and provides relevant information certification storage function for users. It could restore illegally tampered water information by verification, thus ensuring the security and reliability of system data. Experimental results show that the average throughput of water quality information uploading and query on the chain reaches more than 200 tps, up to 500 tps, which meets the expected requirements of system performance.

Credible Depository Chain System of Card Games

YUAN Chenjuan, SUN Guozi, LI Huakang, WANG Jitao

2020, 38(1):  81-92.  doi:10.3969/j.issn.0255-8297.2020.01.006

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At present, the trust problem of chess and card games on the market has not been solved with effective methods, and phenomena of cheating such as plug-ins are endless. Therefore, based on the characteristics of decentralization and tamper resistance of the current blockchain, we propose a card game anti-cheat method. This method uses the API to access the player's card information and applies the Huffman Merkle Hash tree (HuffMHT) algorithm to compress card information which is then encrypted by various encryption algorithms. At last, a smart contract is written to anchor the encrypted information on the blockchain. In the proposal, everyone has the access to compare the licensing information on the blockchain with the final complete card information to find out if they are cheating. Experimental results show that the proposed method is capable of solving the trust problem of card games effectively and enables a safe card game environment.

A Byzantine Fault Tolerance Raft Algorithm Combines with BLS Signature

WANG Rihong, ZHANG Lifeng, ZHOU Hang, XU Quanqing

2020, 38(1):  93-104.  doi:10.3969/j.issn.0255-8297.2020.01.007

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Aiming at the problem of Byzantine fault tolerance (BFT) in the Raft algorithm, a Raft Byzantine fault tolerance (RBFT) algorithm combined with BLS signature is proposed. First, it uses BLS signatures to implement threshold signatures, converts the voting process into a threshold signature process, and combines this process with the Raft algorithm's AppendEntries message and RequestVote message to minimize the impact of the fault-tolerant process on consensus efficiency. Second, it introduces a safe status through the incremental Hash value to ensure the log's tamper-resistibility. Then it provides dynamical monitoring on the leader node so as to avoid the possible negative feedback of Byzantine leader and ensure the liveness of the algorithm. Finally, local multi-node simulation experiments show that the RBFT algorithm could improve the throughput and scalability, and reduce the latency of transactions effectively.

Trustworthy Storage Technology about Electronic Warehouse Receipts Based on Blockchain

WANG Wenqi, PAN Heng, PAN Lei, GUAN Yunyun

2020, 38(1):  105-118.  doi:10.3969/j.issn.0255-8297.2020.01.008

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Warehouse receipt is an important voucher in the supply-chain logistics circulation. The basic requirement is that the electronic warehouse receipts and its warehouse process information are credible and non-modifiable, but the traditional database technology cannot solve these issues. In this paper, based on blockchain technology, the overall framework for storing electronic warehouse and related IoT information is proposed, and a consensus algorithm-based credit degree is designed. Based on the source code of bitcoin, an underlying blockchain storage system is re-designed to store various information and to be suitable for trading operations. The trading algorithm that can trade warehouse and store storage information is redesigned. Finally, experimental results show the system has good effectiveness and practicability.

Blockchain Node Storage Optimization Scheme

JIANG Yunchao, HE Xiaowei, CUI Yiju

2020, 38(1):  119-126.  doi:10.3969/j.issn.0255-8297.2020.01.009

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With the development of blockchain technology, the blocks in blockchain are keeping increasing, the new blockchain nodes are facing the problems of increasingly large storage and increasingly long time in block synchronization. In order to solve the problems, this paper proposes a blockchain node storage optimization scheme, which firstly calculates the number of blocks in each sharding by analyzing the probability of blockchain malicious nodes, then obtains the number of blockchain nodes and the probability of the block with the largest number being attacked by malicious node within the sharding, and at last, calculates the number of copies that need to be stored in each sharding. Experimental analysis shows that the optimization scheme reduces 50% blocks storage and 22% synchronization time in blockchain nodes, therefore, it can not only reduce the node storage in blockchain, but also improve the efficiency of new nodes joining the blockchain.

A Patient-Controlled Security Access Mechanism for Electronic Health Records

PAN Heng, PAN Lei, YAO Zhongyuan, SI Xueming

2020, 38(1):  127-138.  doi:10.3969/j.issn.0255-8297.2020.01.010

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In the existing cloud environment, the special requirements of patients to make full control of his/her electronic health record can hardly be fulfilled. In order to solve this problem, a secure access scheme HyperEHR based on Hyperledger fabric and interplanetary file system (IPFS) is proposed. In the proposal, the medical record requester first needs to obtain the consent of his/her organization, and the patient have the final right to make the decision of accessing permission. To ensure the security of cross-organization medical data access, information like medical record generation, update and access is stored in collaborative blockchain. Moreover, specific medical record information and access control policies generated by hospitals and clinics are encrypted and stored in the cloud interplanetary file system. System implementation and analysis show that the scheme has good scalability, interoperability and security. HyperEHR can not only help patient to make control of his/her medical data accessing, but also prevent the privacy disclosure of electronic health record effectively.

Location Information Protection Model for IoT Nodes Based on Blockchain

SHE Wei, CHEN Jiansen, GU Zhihao, TIAN Zhao, XU Li, LIU Wei

2020, 38(1):  139-151.  doi:10.3969/j.issn.0255-8297.2020.01.011

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The Internet of Things (IoT) is changing people's consuming behavior and business processes. Aiming at the information privacy and security of IoT devices, this paper proposes a location information protection model for IoT devices based on blockchain technology. Firstly, this model records device identification with the help of blockchain technology to ensure that the information of IoT devices cannot be tampered. Then the distributed Hash table (DHT) network is implemented based on white list technology and the device location information is XOR processed to hide the network topology of the IoT. Finally, the sensitive attributes of the data are generalized according to k-anonymous algorithm to provide users with regional information statistics services. The experimental results show that the model can effectively hide device location information, provide customized regional statistics service and protect user information security.

Intelligent Eco Networking (IEN): Knowledge-Driven and Value-Oriented Future Internet Infrastructure

LEI Kai, HUANG Shuokang, FANG Junjie, HUANG Jiyue, XIE Yingying, PENG Bo

2020, 38(1):  152-172.  doi:10.3969/j.issn.0255-8297.2020.01.012

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As the trend of knowledgelization of content, evaluation of knowledge, networking of value, ecologicalization of network and intellectualization of ecology is becoming increasingly prominent in the future Internet. In this paper, we propose the con-cept of intelligent eco networking (IEN) for the future Internet, countering with the deficiencies of the current IP networks, including rigid architecture, weak content awareness, poor multi-architecture/multi-network integration, low scheduling flexibility, lacking endogenous security and trust maintenance mechanism, single quality of service (QoS) mode and outdated evaluation indicators and methods. IEN adopts software and hardware integrated technology roadmap based on virtualization and configurable devices, improves information-centric networking (ICN) architecture, integrates distributed artificial intelligence (AI) analysis decision and blockchain consensus computing technology, considers network resource cost/profit indicators regarding storage, computing and bandwidth resources, aims at building a hierarchical, intelligent and semantic network architecture. IEN is backward compatible with IP protocol; forward evolves towards naming and IP integrated, heterogeneous computing addressing and multi-modal network protocol for cross-domain, edge-critical scenario, overlays content, identity authentication and multi-party trusted incentive mechanism; optimizes network resources allocation model and evaluation system. Through content semantic detection and identity credibility authentication, IEN insists on both security and openness. IEN aims to form a network infrastructure with high expansion, dynamic adaptation, and multi-objective optimization. It explores a new generation of industrialization, economics, and ecological Internet, and establishes an intelligent network of openness, sharing and synergy.

Identity Authentication Protocol of Micro-grid Power Based on Consortium Blockchain

ZHANG Lihua, HU Fangzhou, HUANG Yang, WAN Yuanhua, LI Jingjing

2020, 38(1):  173-183.  doi:10.3969/j.issn.0255-8297.2020.01.013

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At present, the key problems existing in micro-grid power transaction include the insecurity of identity authentication protocol, the centralization of transaction, and the lack of data traceability and consensus among nodes. Blockchain has the advantages of distributed storage, decentralization and non-tampering of data. To this sense, this paper proposes an authentication protocol of micro-grid power transaction based on consortium Blockchain, which applies blockchain to micro-grid identity authentication to solve the above problems. First, the new node authentication solution is obtained by using zero knowledge proof. Second, its ID is written in the Merkle tree and broadcast in the consortium blockchain, thus, getting rid of the existing problems mentioned above in microgrid power transaction, and ensuring the immutability, security, and traceability of data. Finally, by taking the advantages of Ripple consensus protocol (RCP) in security and efficiency, the proposed protocol can effectively solve the consensus problem between nodes. In comparison with other schemes, the proposed scheme has a lower computational overhead and faster consensus rate. Scheme analysis on security and function shows that this scheme can not only guarantee the security of micro-grid identity authentication, but also ensure the optimal performance of nodes.

Book Infringement Record Depositing Platform Based on Blockchain

ZHANG Yifei, CAO Shaozhong, QI Deli, WANG Liang, YANG Yanhong

2020, 38(1):  184-196.  doi:10.3969/j.issn.0255-8297.2020.01.014

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Aiming at the dilemma that more and more frequent audio reading books failing to validate the infringement of books in a timely and effective manner, this paper proposes a scheme for using the blockchain technology to automatically deposit certificates of copyright infringement records. Firstly, the audio information crawled from the network, then, the results are stored in the private blockchain structure after checking and comparing with the content of the book. Secondly, based on the proof of work (PoW) consensus, the platform designs and implements a feasible consensus algorithm. Finally, the security of block data is verified by combining the cryptographic summary information authentication as well as digital signature verification mechanism. System testing results show the efficiency and reliability of the platform, providing it a valid and feasible book infringement record deposit scheme.