Blockchain Node Audit Transactions for Byzantine Fault Tolerance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional blockchain platforms face safety and liveness issues due to malicious or malfunctioning ordering services, as they rely on the correct operation of these services, which can lead to inconsistent block propagation and service unavailability.
Innovation Solution
The proposed solution involves expanding the functionality of blockchain nodes to audit the ordering service, generating and submitting audit transactions to detect malfunctions or malicious attacks, and changing the ordering service when necessary, utilizing a Byzantine fault tolerance method that includes consensus level determination and error analysis to ensure safety, liveness, and fairness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the ordering service is assumed to operate correctly without audit mechanisms, then the system structure remains simple and easy to operate, but safety issues occur when the ordering service propagates inconsistent blocks or malfunctions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary audit actions by blockchain nodes before processing blocks from the ordering service. Nodes generate audit transactions that verify the consistency and validity of blocks in advance, preventing propagation of inconsistent or malicious blocks. This preliminary verification mechanism ensures safety without requiring complex real-time monitoring systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent establishes a feedback mechanism where blockchain nodes audit blocks received from the ordering service and provide verification results. The audit transactions are processed and included in the blockchain, creating a feedback loop that holds the ordering service accountable. This feedback system ensures safety while maintaining relatively simple system structure through existing blockchain mechanisms.
2Reliability
If audit transactions are generated and submitted for every block to ensure safety, then reliability improves, but the number of transactions and processing overhead increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes blockchain nodes multi-functional by combining their existing block validation functionality with audit transaction generation. Nodes perform both regular validation and audit functions using the same infrastructure, avoiding the need for separate audit systems. This universal approach ensures safety without proportionally increasing transaction overhead.
Solution Approach 2:
The audit mechanism is self-service in that blockchain nodes independently generate and submit audit transactions for blocks they receive. Each node performs its own audit verification without requiring centralized coordination or additional processing infrastructure. This self-service approach maintains productivity by utilizing existing node capabilities for both validation and auditing.
3Reliability
If the ordering service is changed when malfunctions are detected, then liveness is maintained, but the complexity of detecting and executing service changes increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex manual or centralized malfunction detection mechanisms with cryptographic verification through audit transactions. Instead of requiring sophisticated monitoring systems to detect ordering service malfunctions, the system uses cryptographic proofs in audit transactions that automatically reveal inconsistencies. This substitution simplifies malfunction detection while maintaining liveness through automated service replacement capabilities.
4Reliability
If Byzantine fault tolerance mechanisms are implemented to tolerate malicious nodes, then the system can operate with faulty nodes present, but the consensus requirements become more stringent
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses copying by having multiple blockchain nodes independently generate and submit audit transactions for the same blocks. This creates redundant verification copies that collectively provide fault tolerance. If some nodes are faulty or malicious, their audit transactions can be identified and excluded while the correct audits from honest nodes maintain system integrity. This copying approach provides fault tolerance without requiring complex consensus protocols.
Data Source
AI summary
A Byzantine fault tolerance method in a blockchain platform, which is related to an audit transaction analysis method for analyzing operation of a blockchain ordering service, may comprise: determining, through an audit transaction analysis submitted by each blockchain node included in at least one received block, a consensus level of the received block; and detecting a malfunction and a malicious attack of an ordering service on the basis of a consensus level update delay time and an error analysis of an audit transaction analysis process in the blockchain node.