Blockchain Segmentation for Fixed Size and Performance
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Solution Overview
Problem
The large size of blockchains, particularly in IoT systems, leads to performance issues due to the quadratic growth of transaction records, which existing protocols struggle to manage efficiently, especially in permission-less ledgers where size is not under strict control.
Innovation Solution
Implement a method to identify and archive less frequently accessed portions of the blockchain, compressing them for storage while maintaining transaction metadata, thereby keeping the blockchain size fixed and optimizing computational efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the blockchain stores all transactions in an open shared ledger, then transaction transparency and immutability are improved, but the blockchain size grows quadratically leading to performance degradation
Solution Approach 1:
The blockchain is segmented into two distinct parts: an active blockchain storing only recent and frequently accessed transactions, and a separate archive database storing historical transactions. This segmentation allows the active chain to remain small and performant while historical data is preserved in the archive, resolving the contradiction between maintaining transparency and ensuring performance.
Solution Approach 2:
Historical transactions are extracted from the active blockchain and stored in a separate archive database. This extraction removes the burden of storing all historical data from the active chain, allowing the blockchain to maintain its performance characteristics while still providing access to historical records through the archive.
2Loss of information
If the blockchain size is increased to store all transactions, then complete transaction history is preserved, but computational complexity increases linearly with blockchain size
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments transaction storage into an active blockchain for recent transactions and an archive database for historical transactions. This segmentation ensures complete transaction history is preserved while limiting computational complexity to only the size of the active chain, which remains manageable.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of storing all transactions in the active blockchain, the system creates a copy of the blockchain structure that references archived transactions. This allows complete history to be accessible while the active chain maintains a smaller, more manageable size that reduces computational complexity.
3Adaptability or versatility
If permission-less ledgers are used for decentralization, then system decentralization is improved, but blockchain size control is lost leading to unbounded growth
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the blockchain into an active chain maintained by nodes and an archive stored externally. This segmentation allows permission-less access to the active chain for decentralization while the archive provides unbounded storage capacity, resolving the contradiction between decentralization and size control.
Solution Approach 2:
An intermediary archive database is introduced between the active blockchain and the complete transaction history. This intermediary allows the decentralized active chain to remain small and controllable while the archive provides the additional storage capacity needed to prevent unbounded growth.
Data Source
AI summary
A blockchain may include various transactions which are identified and which require processing. The order of processing such transactions may be optimized by examining content of the transactions. One example operation may include one or more of identifying blockchain transactions, designating each of the blockchain transactions as an independent transaction type or a dependent transaction type, and determining an order to process the blockchain transactions based on the independent transaction type or the dependent transaction type.