Layered Blockchain License Distribution System
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current software license key management systems lack effective enforcement of licensing limits, allowing customers to misuse licenses by using a single key across multiple hosts, and fail to seamlessly enable access to additional features without additional licensing processes.
Innovation Solution
A layered-infrastructure blockchain-based system integrates cloud and fog solutions with blockchain technology for secure, decentralized license key management, enabling global tracking and distribution, and ensuring that customers can access full product features while enforcing licensing requirements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional centralized license management is used, then license distribution is simple, but licensing limits cannot be effectively enforced and security is weak
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments license management into multiple independent components: blockchain network for decentralized verification, smart contracts for automated license issuance and validation, and distributed nodes for storing license information. This segmentation enables reliable licensing limit enforcement through cryptographic verification while distributing system complexity across multiple specialized modules rather than requiring a monolithic complex system.
Solution Approach 2:
The blockchain network acts as an intermediary layer between license issuers and users. Smart contracts serve as automated intermediaries that mediate license validation without requiring direct trust between parties. This intermediary blockchain infrastructure enables secure licensing limit enforcement while abstracting the complexity of decentralized verification from end users.
2Ease of operation
If manual license verification processes are used, then system complexity is low, but additional licensing processes are required to access additional features
Solution Approach 1:
License information is pre-recorded on the blockchain with all necessary validation rules encoded in smart contracts before deployment. When users need to access features, the system performs automated verification against these pre-established criteria without requiring manual intervention or additional licensing processes. This preliminary setup enables seamless feature access while eliminating time-consuming manual verification steps.
Solution Approach 2:
The smart contracts automatically verify license validity and enforce licensing limits without human intervention. The system self-services by autonomously validating licenses, checking feature eligibility, and granting access based on pre-programmed rules. This self-service automation enables ease of operation for accessing features while eliminating the time loss associated with manual licensing processes.
3Productivity
If centralized license tracking is used, then processing impact on systems is high, but global tracking and distribution capability is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The system transitions from centralized vertical tracking to distributed horizontal tracking across the blockchain network. License information is replicated across multiple nodes simultaneously, enabling global tracking scalability without concentrating processing load on a single system. This dimensional shift from centralized to distributed architecture enables high productivity in license tracking while reducing processing impact on individual systems through load distribution.
Solution Approach 2:
The blockchain network provides real-time feedback to all nodes about license status and validation results. When a license is verified or invalidated, this information is propagated across the distributed network, enabling all participants to maintain synchronized license tracking state. This feedback mechanism enables scalable global tracking while distributing processing requirements across the network rather than concentrating load on a single system.
Data Source
AI summary
A layered-infrastructure blockchain-based system for software license distribution includes a distributed cloud of blockchain full nodes. Each blockchain full node contains a blockchain data structure on which a complete set of license key transactions are recorded. The layered-infrastructure also includes a plurality of storage systems. Each respective storage system contains a blockchain light data structure on which only a subset of license key transactions associated with that respective storage system are recorded. A plurality of hosts connect to the plurality of storage systems. As the hosts connect to the storage systems, license key transactions are generated, such that the license key transactions that are recorded in the blockchain-based system for software license distribution are associated with the connection events between the plurality of hosts and the plurality of storage systems.