Blockchain System Configuration Management Independent of Smart Contracts
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Solution Overview
Problem
Blockchain systems rely heavily on smart contracts for system configuration management, leading to inflexibility and dependency on virtual machines, making it difficult to optimize asynchronous processing and switch between consensus algorithms like Proof Of Work (POW), especially when managing system configurations such as consensus node account lists.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus for managing system configurations independent of smart contracts, where special transactions are used to store system configuration content without service logic, allowing for verification and update management through transaction processing, decoupling consensus from smart contracts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a preset smart contract is used for managing system configurations, then the blockchain can maintain system configuration data, but the blockchain becomes dependent on the smart contract and virtual machine, reducing flexibility
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments system configuration management into two independent parts: (1) configuration data storage in the blockchain ledger itself, and (2) consensus node account list management. This separation allows the consensus module to access configuration data directly from the blockchain without depending on smart contract execution, thereby maintaining reliability while improving flexibility and adaptability.
2Reliability
If the virtual machine completes transactions in a previous block to obtain the latest consensus node account list, then the consensus algorithm can operate, but asynchronous processing optimization becomes difficult and chain switching between branches is slow
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by maintaining the consensus node account list as a separate, continuously updated data structure in the blockchain ledger. Instead of waiting for virtual machine execution to complete and generate configuration data, the consensus node account list is prepared and available in advance, allowing consensus algorithms to immediately access the latest information without waiting for smart contract execution or chain reorganization.
3Reliability
If system configuration data is managed through smart contracts, then configuration can be stored and retrieved, but switching to consensus algorithms with uncertainty such as Proof Of Work becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal configuration management system where the consensus node account list and system configuration data are stored in a blockchain-agnostic manner that can serve multiple consensus algorithms. The configuration data structure and access mechanism are designed to be algorithm-agnostic, allowing the same infrastructure to support Proof of Work, Proof of Stake, and other consensus mechanisms without requiring changes to the configuration management layer, thereby enabling easy switching between different consensus algorithms.
Data Source
AI summary
A management method and apparatus for a system configuration independent of a smart contract for a blockchain is provided. The method includes that: a blockchain node receives a new proposal, where the new proposal includes at least one transaction; the blockchain node determines whether a special transaction exists in the at least one transaction, where the special transaction is used for storing system configuration content without service logic; the blockchain node verifies the special transaction according to a preset verification rule to obtain a verification result in response to determining that the special transaction exists in the at least one transaction; and the blockchain node performs, in response to the verification result indicating that the special transaction passes verification, update management on a current system configuration according to the system configuration content.