Structured Overlay Computing for Resilient Ledger Consensus
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Solution Overview
Problem
Blockchain networks face significant messaging loads due to confirmation messages required for consensus, leading to system slowdowns and increased probability of message delivery failures.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a structured overlay framework where each node belongs to multiple neighborhoods, processing messages without acknowledgments (ACKs) to ensure 100% coverage and using a gap fill protocol for missed transactions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If confirmation messages (ACK) are used to guarantee message delivery in blockchain consensus, then message delivery reliability is improved, but system speed and messaging load are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the ACK (acknowledgement) mechanism from the consensus messaging protocol. By taking out the confirmation message requirement, the system eliminates the bottleneck where nodes must wait for ACKs before proceeding, thereby dramatically improving consensus processing speed while maintaining reliability through alternative means (flooding technique with sufficient propagation rounds).
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies the skipping principle by rushing through the messaging process without waiting for confirmations. Instead of sequential ACK-based delivery, the system uses flooding technique to rapidly propagate messages through multiple neighborhoods simultaneously, skipping the verification delay and achieving both speed and reliability through parallel propagation.
2Reliability
If traditional TCP protocols with ACK messages are used for consensus communication, then message delivery guarantee is improved, but messaging overhead and network load are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the ACK message component from the communication protocol entirely. By extracting the confirmation messaging mechanism, the system eliminates the doubled messaging overhead (request + acknowledgment) while maintaining delivery guarantees through the flooding technique and neighborhood-based propagation model.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the fundamental parameter of communication from reliable but heavy TCP-based ACK protocols to lighter connectionless protocols (UDP/QUIC) combined with flooding. This parameter change transforms the messaging approach from confirmation-driven to propagation-driven, reducing total message quantity while maintaining effectiveness.
3Quantity of substance
If flooding technique is used to propagate messages without ACKs, then messaging load is reduced, but message delivery probability is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the network into multiple neighborhoods with specific propagation patterns. Instead of trying to deliver to all nodes simultaneously through a single message, the system divides the propagation task across multiple neighborhoods, each handling a subset of nodes. This segmentation increases the effective delivery probability while maintaining reduced messaging load through structured propagation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-establishing neighborhood relationships and propagation paths before actual message delivery is needed. The structured overlay framework pre-organizes the network topology so that when flooding occurs, messages automatically follow optimized paths to ensure comprehensive coverage without requiring additional confirmation mechanisms.
Data Source
AI summary
A device includes a set of networked computing devices configured in a multiple-neighborhood topology, each respective computing device of the set of computing devices being configured as part of the multiple-neighborhood topology in which each respective computing device is assigned to a group of neighborhoods and follows a topology protocol. The device is configured to receive, at a first computing device in a first neighborhood, the respective transaction to be recorded on a distributed ledger, communicate the respective transaction to each neighbor of the first computing device, continue to communicate the respective transaction from neighborhood to neighborhood according to the multiple-neighborhood topology until all computing devices of the set of networked computing devices have received the respective transaction. Upon approval of the respective transaction by at least a majority of the respective computing devices, the device is configured to record the respective transaction on the distributed ledger.