Adaptive Sharded Blockchain Network Management via Deep Q-Network
Solution Overview
Problem
Current blockchain systems face scalability issues due to low transaction processing speed (TPS) and energy consumption, particularly in IoT networks, where the Proof of Work (PoW) algorithm is inefficient, and sharding techniques compromise security for improved TPS.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus and method using deep reinforcement learning to manage a sharded blockchain network by optimizing block size, block interval, and number of shards based on real-time network conditions, ensuring security and maximizing TPS while adhering to latency and security constraints.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If PoW algorithm is used for consensus, then security is maintained, but transaction processing speed (TPS) is low and energy consumption is high
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the blockchain network into multiple shards (segments), allowing parallel transaction processing across different shard groups. This segmentation enables the system to maintain security through distributed consensus while significantly improving TPS by processing transactions in parallel rather than sequentially across the entire network.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic adjustment of network parameters including block size, block interval, and number of shards based on real-time network conditions. This dynamic approach allows the system to optimize between security and TPS by adapting the consensus parameters and shard configuration according to current transaction loads and network state.
2Productivity
If sharding technique is used to improve TPS, then transaction processing speed increases, but security level is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the network into multiple shard groups where each group processes transactions independently in parallel. This segmentation improves TPS by distributing the transaction load across multiple groups while maintaining security through the distributed nature of the segmentation, preventing any single point of failure or malicious control.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent dynamically changes key parameters including the number of shards, block size, and block interval based on network conditions and security requirements. By adjusting these parameters, the system can optimize TPS while maintaining security thresholds, resolving the contradiction between sharding benefits and security concerns.
3Productivity
If block size is increased to improve TPS, then transaction processing capacity increases, but latency increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic adjustment of block size based on real-time network conditions and transaction demands. Rather than using a fixed large block size that would increase latency, the system adapts block size dynamically to optimize between processing capacity and confirmation time, reducing latency while maintaining high TPS.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses periodic block generation with adjustable intervals to balance processing capacity and latency. By optimizing the block interval parameter dynamically, the system ensures that blocks are generated frequently enough to maintain low latency while containing sufficient transactions to achieve high processing capacity.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for managing sharded blockchain network obtains state information including an inter-node data transmission rate and computing resources of each node in the current epoch of a shard-based blockchain network in which N nodes are distributed to at least one shard, a consensus process record of each node in each shard and a ratio of malicious nodes, estimates at least one action each including block size, block interval and number of shards corresponding to the state information by using an artificial neural network in which a pattern estimation method has been previously learned, selects one action among the estimated at least one action and applies the one action to the shard-based blockchain network.