Blockchain Load Balancer with Plugin-Based Upstream Selection
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Solution Overview
Problem
General-purpose load balancers, such as Envoy or Nginx, are ineffective when routing traffic to blockchain nodes due to data inconsistencies caused by each node synchronizing and storing data independently, leading to potential application crashes and user experience issues, while blockchain-specific load balancers lack community support, vulnerability audits, and extensibility for complex scenarios.
Innovation Solution
A system using a general-purpose load balancer configured with a load balancer plugin that polls metadata specific to the blockchain protocol for optimal upstream selection logic, integrating authentication and tracking services, and implemented on infrastructure layers like service mesh for fine control over traffic management and load distribution across computing units.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If general-purpose load balancers are used to route traffic to blockchain nodes, then ease of operation and community support are improved, but data consistency and reliability deteriorate due to independent node data synchronization
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a specialized load balancer component that acts as an intermediary between client applications and blockchain nodes. This intermediary selectively routes read requests to nodes based on data consistency criteria and routes write requests to appropriate nodes, thereby mediating the interaction to ensure reliability while maintaining the ease of operation of general-purpose load balancers.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different routing strategies to different types of requests (read vs. write) and different nodes based on their current state. The load balancer evaluates node-specific properties such as synchronization status and selectively applies routing logic, thereby applying local quality differentiation to ensure data consistency for reads while maintaining operational simplicity.
2Reliability
If blockchain-specific load balancers are used to ensure data consistency, then reliability is improved, but device complexity and lack of community support worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs a load balancer that can handle both general traffic routing and blockchain-specific consistency requirements through a unified architecture. The system provides multiple functions including standard load balancing, blockchain-aware routing, authentication, and tracking within a single deployable component, thereby achieving reliability without proportionally increasing device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The load balancer performs preliminary evaluation of node states and request types before routing decisions are made. By pre-assessing synchronization status and request characteristics, the system prepares routing decisions in advance, reducing the complexity of real-time decision-making while maintaining reliability through consistent data access patterns.
3Ease of operation
If traditional load balancing algorithms are used, then ease of operation is improved, but productivity and response time worsen due to computational intensity of blockchain queries
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the routing parameters from simple load-based metrics to blockchain-specific parameters such as node synchronization status, current block height, and data freshness. This parameter transformation enables the load balancer to make more intelligent routing decisions that improve productivity by directing queries to nodes most likely to respond quickly with accurate data, while maintaining ease of operation through automated parameter evaluation.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a system and method for exposing data from blockchain nodes and orchestrating requests to blockchain nodes. The system mainly includes a client application, a load balancer, and blockchain nodes connected to the blockchain network. The system receives a request from the client application. The load balancer is configured with an upstream selection logic and configured with custom metadata specific to blockchain nodes. Based upon the upstream selection logic, the load balancer generates a proxy request to the selected blockchain node. The load balancer of the system is a general-purpose load balancer having built-in plugins, such as an authentication service unit and a tracking unit. Based on the selection logic and the upstream metadata, the general-purpose load balancer is extended with custom plugins.