Flexico: An efficient dual-mode consensus protocol for blockchain networks.

Autor: Shuyang Ren, Choonhwa Lee, Eunsam Kim, Sumi Helal
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2022
Předmět:
Zdroj: PLoS ONE, Vol 17, Iss 11, p e0277092 (2022)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1932-6203
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0277092
Popis: Blockchain is a Byzantine fault tolerant (BFT) system wherein decentralized nodes execute consensus protocols to drive the agreement process on new blocks added to a distributed ledger. Generally, two-round communications among [Formula: see text] nodes are required to tolerate up to [Formula: see text] faults in BFT-based consensus networks. This communication pattern corresponds to the worse-case scenario of consensus achievement, even under asynchronous network conditions. Nevertheless, it is not uncommon for a network to operate under better conditions, where a consensus can be reached with a lower communication cost. Hence, with the addition of a faster optimistic path toward an agreement, the idea of dual-mode consensus has been proposed as a promising approach to enhance the performance of asynchronous BFT protocols. However, this opportunity is not completely exploited by existing dual-mode protocols as the fast path can be followed only in a nonfaulty and synchronous network. This article presents a novel dual-mode protocol consisting of fast and backup subprotocols. To create different consensus committees for fast and backup-mode operations, the network contains both active and passive nodes. A consensus can be expedited through a fast-mode operation when majority of the active nodes can communicate synchronously. Under non-ideal conditions, the backup protocol takes over the agreement process from its fast-mode counterpart without starting over the suspended round. The safety and liveness of the proposed protocol are guaranteed with lower communication costs, which balance the trade-off between protocol efficiency and availability.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals
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