WO2020133333A1

WO2020133333A1 - Method and apparatus for a hierarchical blockchain network

Info

Publication number: WO2020133333A1
Application number: PCT/CN2018/125299
Authority: WO
Inventors: Zhancang WANG
Original assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ)
Priority date: 2018-12-29
Filing date: 2018-12-29
Publication date: 2020-07-02

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide methods and apparatuses for a hierarchical blockchain network. A method implemented at a node in a primary blockchain network may comprise receiving one or more transactions originating from one or more nodes of at least one secondary blockchain network within a predetermined time slot. The method may further comprise recording the one or more transactions. The method may further comprise selecting a node from the primary blockchain network as a block producer to produce a data block for storing the one or more transactions. The method may further comprise approving the data block in the primary blockchain network. The method may further comprise adding the data block to a blockchain of the primary blockchain network.

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR A HIERARCHICAL BLOCKCHAIN NETWORK

TECHNICAL FIELD

The non-limiting and exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the technical field of communications, and specifically to methods and apparatuses for a hierarchical blockchain network.

BACKGROUND

This section introduces aspects that may facilitate a better understanding of the disclosure. Accordingly, the statements of this section are to be read in this light and are not to be understood as admissions about what is in the prior art or what is not in the prior art.

A blockchain is a peer-to-peer, electronic ledger which may be implemented as a computer-based decentralized, distributed system. Blockchain could be regarded as a public ledger, in which all committed transactions are stored in a chain of blocks. This chain continuously grows when new blocks are appended to it. The blockchain technology has some characteristics, such as decentralization, persistency, anonymity and auditability. Blockchain can work in a decentralized environment, which is enabled by integrating several technologies such as cryptographic hash, digital signature (for example based on asymmetric cryptography) and distributed consensus mechanism. With blockchain technology, a transaction can take place in a decentralized fashion. An exemplary working process of blockchain may be as follows: 1) a sending node records new data and broadcasting it to a blockchain network; 2) a receiving node checks a message including the data which it received, if the message is correct, then it will be stored to a block; 3) all receiving nodes in the blockchain network execute a consensus mechanism such as PoW (Proof of Work) , PoS (Proof of Stake) , PBFT (Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance) , DPoS (Delegated Proof of Stake) , PoB (Proof of Bandwidth) , PoET (Proof of Elapsed Time) , PoA (Proof of Authority) , and so on to the block; 4) the block will be stored into the blockchain after executing the consensus algorithm, every node in the blockchain network admits this block and will continuously extend the chain base on this block.

Blockchain can implement simple yet effective and powerful mechanisms for creating a wide and varied range of computer-implemented systems. Such systems can include various devices such as IoT (Internet of Things) devices. IoT devices are embedded with electronic circuits, software, sensors, and networking capabilities etc. to enable them to communicate with other devices and systems, often via wireless means, and to perform desired tasks. In some cases, they may be very small and contain only limited processing, networking and storage capacity.

SUMMARY

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

In a first aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a method implemented at a node in a primary blockchain network. The method may comprise receiving one or more transactions originating from one or more nodes of at least one secondary blockchain network within a predetermined time slot. The method may further comprise recording the one or more transactions. The method may further comprise selecting a node from the primary blockchain network as a block producer to produce a data block for storing the one or more transactions. The method may further comprise approving the data block in the primary blockchain network. The method may further comprise adding the data block to a blockchain of the primary blockchain network.

In a second aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a method implemented at a node in a secondary blockchain network. The method may comprise generating one or more transactions. The method may further comprise sending the one or more transactions to a node in a primary blockchain network.

In a third aspect of the disclosure, there is provided an apparatus implemented at a node in a primary blockchain network. The apparatus may comprise a processor; and a memory coupled to the processor. Said memory containing instructions executable by said processor, whereby said apparatus is operative to receive one or more transactions originating from one or more nodes of at least one secondary blockchain network within a predetermined time slot; record the one or more transactions; select a node from the primary blockchain network as a block producer to produce a data block for storing the one or more transactions; approve the data block in the primary blockchain network; and add the data block to a blockchain of the primary blockchain network.

In a fourth aspect of the disclosure, there is provided an apparatus implemented at a secondary blockchain network. The apparatus may comprise a processor; and a memory coupled to the processor. Said memory containing instructions executable by said processor, whereby said apparatus is operative to generate one or more transactions; and send the one or more transactions to a node in a primary blockchain network.

In a fifth aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a computer program product, comprising instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the method according to the first aspect of the disclosure.

In a sixth aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a computer program product, comprising instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the method according to the second aspect of the disclosure.

In a seventh aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions which when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the method according to the first aspect of the disclosure.

In an eighth aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions which when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the method according to the second aspect of the disclosure.

In a ninth aspect of the disclosure, there is provided an apparatus implemented as/at a node in a primary blockchain network. The apparatus may comprise a first receiving unit configured to receive one or more transactions originating from one or more nodes of at least one secondary blockchain network within a predetermined time slot; a recording unit configured to record the one or more transactions; a selecting unit configured to select a node from the primary blockchain network as a block producer to produce a data block for storing the one or more transactions; a first approving unit configured to approve the data block in the primary blockchain network; and an adding unit configured to add the data block to a blockchain of the primary blockchain network.

In a tenth aspect of the disclosure, there is provided an apparatus implemented as/at a node in a secondary blockchain network. The apparatus may comprise a generating unit configured to generate one or more transactions; and a first sending unit configured to send the one or more transactions to a node in a primary blockchain network.

Many advantages may be achieved by applying the proposed solution according to embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, some embodiments of the disclosure may reduce the complexity of hardware development by software-defining hardware. Some embodiments of the disclosure may enable to form a unified ecology between hardware and hardware, and to drive the integration between different systems through economic means. Some embodiments of the disclosure may construct an economical driven blockchain application platform and interaction standards. Some embodiments of the disclosure propose a structure of hierarchical blockchain network where different types of devices are connected to each other to form different blockchain networks, and a consensus algorithm is used to ensure legal trustworthiness of transactions between devices. In some embodiments of the disclosure, different types of devices can access different blockchain networks to avoid the explosive growth of the general ledger. Some embodiments of the disclosure can greatly reduce the development difficulty of IoT applications. Some embodiments of the disclosure can relay a transaction between two blockchain networks. Some embodiments of the disclosure can effectively circulate resources, and accelerate the progress of the IoT. Some embodiments of the disclosure provide a relay blockchain platform on which a large number of verifiable, globally consistent, consensus data structures can be constructed. On the basis of ensuring overall security and trust between blockchain networks, some embodiments of the disclosure can internalize the IoT blockchain into an IoT infrastructure like Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) , unconsciously affecting people's lives.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features, and benefits of various embodiments of the present disclosure will become more fully apparent, by way of example, from the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals or letters are used to designate like or equivalent elements. The drawings are illustrated for facilitating better understanding of the embodiments of the disclosure and not necessarily drawn to scale, in which:

FIG. 1 schematically shows an architecture of a hierarchical blockchain network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 shows a flow chart of an operational process of consensus according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 3 shows a work flow of an economic model according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of a method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of a method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of a method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 shows a flowchart of a method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 illustrates a simplified block diagram of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 illustrates a simplified block diagram of an apparatus according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 illustrates a simplified block diagram of an apparatus according to another embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 11 illustrates a simplified block diagram of an apparatus according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

For the purpose of explanation, details are set forth in the following description in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments disclosed. It is apparent, however, to those skilled in the art that the embodiments may be implemented without these specific details or with an equivalent arrangement.

References in the specification to “one embodiment, ” “an embodiment, ” “an example embodiment, ” and the like indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but it is not necessary that every embodiment includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described.

It shall be understood that although the terms “first” and “second” etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of example embodiments. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed terms.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms “a” , “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” , “comprising” , “has” , “having” , “includes” and/or “including” , when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, elements, and/or components etc., but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components and/or combinations thereof.

In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skills in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

Based on the Internet, the traditional telecommunications network and other information carriers, IoT is the network that allows the connection between all common physical objects that can be located independently of each other. IoT has some features such as the alignment of ordinary objects, the connection of terminals with automatic management and the intellectualization of pervasive services. IoT can combine everything to exchange information and communicate with the Internet to achieve the goals of intellectual discovery, localization, tracking, monitoring and administration.

The IoT may be an extension of the Internet. The terminal side of the IoT extends to information exchange and communication between arbitrary objects, which is a so-called object-object relationship. However, from the Internet to the IoT, the problem of localizing information dissemination has not been solved. Under a centralized structure, it is difficult for the IoT to achieve true autonomous cooperation and effective transactions, as the relevant parties to such cooperation and transactions often belong to different interest groups with complex and uncertain trust relationships. Therefore, the collaboration and transactions of the current IoT devices can be performed under the same trust domain, the collaboration and trading of devices may be provided or verified by the same IoT service provider.

There may be several shortcomings in the field of IoT:

1) Lack of standards. IoT vendors are currently isolated and form a series of data islands, and the information flow is extremely unsmooth. Cross-vendor access and clearing is a problem.

2) Inefficiency. Under the current IoT ecosystem, all devices are authenticated through a cloud server. The connections between devices are handled through the central server, and the efficiency cannot meet the real-time needs of the IoT. The way in which IoT devices are centrally managed makes its operating costs extremely high and even impossible to make profit. The IoT devices are connected to the cloud servers for data transmission and control through the cloud, but these ongoing high operating costs have made IoT vendors not profitable as they scale. In addition, the privacy issues of IoT devices are becoming more prominent, including identity, address tracking, user data analysis, information leakage, and hacking. In the current IoT, multiple devices are simply connected, and each device does not generate more value because of its own data. However, the value of IoT devices may come from the automatic coordination between heterogeneous devices and a main body. Through individual collaboration, ultimately, large data values are generated. However, current devices and entities cannot quantify value and do not have immediate value circulation.

3) Expensive operations. The infrastructure and maintenance costs of centralized cloud servers, data servers, and network equipment are very high. When the number of IoT devices increases to tens of billions, it will generate huge amounts of communication information, making IoT solutions very expensive.

4) Security risks. The centralized network has extremely high security requirements for the central server, and the security breach of the centralized server will affect the nodes in the entire network.

5) Privacy protection. Due to a centralization design of traditional IoT architecture, user behavior data is stored on central, merchant-controlled servers. As a result, users'data is vulnerable to data leakage and users'privacy and security are exposed to serious threats. In addition, the existing centralized network can collect user privacy at will, and after the user realizes the value of his data, the user will gradually dislike and even protest. The IoT cannot obtain user trust because it involves more information from users, including health information and vehicle travel information.

To overcome or mitigate at least one of the above mentioned problems or other problems or provide a useful solution, the embodiments of the present disclosure propose a hierarchical blockchain network which can allow data, resources to be freely circulated and to ensure user privacy in an untrusted decentralized machine federation.

.

It is noted that some embodiments of the present disclosure are mainly described in relation to IoT being used as non-limiting examples for certain exemplary network configurations and system deployments. As such, the description of exemplary embodiments given herein specifically refers to terminology which is directly related thereto. Such terminology is only used in the context of the presented non-limiting examples and embodiments, and does not limit the present disclosure naturally in any way. Rather, any other system configuration or radio technologies may equally be utilized as long as exemplary embodiments described herein are applicable.

FIG. 1 schematically shows an architecture of a hierarchical blockchain network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The hierarchical blockchain network 100 may comprise a primary blockchain network 102, one or more

secondary blockchain networks

104, 106 and 108, and one or more terminal devices 110. Please note that the terms “primary” and “secondary” are only used to distinguish one network from another network, without introducing further limitations by the terms per se. Some secondary blockchain networks such as 104 and 108 may further comprise sub

secondary blockchain networks

112 and 114. The highest level of the secondary blockchain network may be linked to the primary blockchain network. At least one of the secondary blockchain networks may be linked to one or more terminal devices. In an embodiment, the lowest level of the secondary blockchain networks may be linked to one or more terminal devices. The same level of two secondary blockchain networks may be linked. It is noted that there may be more or less hierarchies though only three hierarchies are shown in FIG. 1. The number of the secondary blockchain networks and the sub secondary blockchain networks is only for the purpose of illustration, there may be any other suitable number of the secondary blockchain networks and the sub secondary blockchain networks in other embodiments.

In an embodiment, the primary blockchain network may own the ability to migrate a running instance such as a function of the primary blockchain network from the primary blockchain network to the secondary blockchain networks. In an embodiment, the secondary blockchain networks may be multi-tenant and shared. For example, the secondary blockchain networks can serve multiple tenants. A tenant may be a group of users who share a common access with specific privileges to the secondary blockchain networks. The secondary blockchain networks can be public, private or consortium blockchains. In an embodiment, the secondary blockchain networks may provide secured and separated tenants, quality of service (QoS) and workload distribution.

The architecture of the hierarchical blockchain network can couple the primary blockchain network at a far end of the data with the secondary blockchain networks at a near end of the data to realize a deployment of different types of devices. For example, the hierarchical blockchain network can realize the deployment of massive, low-cost IoT devices together with high-end cloud computing servers. The architecture of the hierarchical blockchain network may reduce the complexity of hardware development by software-defining hardware. The architecture of the hierarchical blockchain network may enable to form a unified ecology between hardware and hardware, and to drive the integration between different systems through economic means.

The nodes of the primary blockchain network may comprise various devices which may have superior performance on compute, storage and networking. The nodes of the primary blockchain network may comprise for example, cloud computers, servers, virtual machines, personal computers, etc. The nodes of the primary blockchain network may run with any kind of operating system including, but not limited to, Windows, Linux, UNIX, Android, iOS and their variants.

In an embodiment, the primary blockchain network may comprise servers for example provided by equipment manufacturers, IoT ecosystem enterprises, etc. The primary blockchain network can be thought of as a decentralized version of cloud servers. In an embodiment, the primary blockchain network may comprise a plurality of cloud nodes, which may be selected by a community according to an approach of voting by nodes holding the token of the primary blockchain network. For example, 2*N+1 cloud nodes and N candidate cloud nodes may be selected. A function of the primary blockchain network is to use a specific consensus algorithm for the block operation and coordinate the work of the nodes in the secondary blockchain networks. The nodes of the primary blockchain networks may be referred to as cloud computing nodes, without any additional limitation by the term itself.

The nodes of the secondary blockchain networks may comprise various devices which may not have full capability of computation, storage and networking, less capable than the nodes of the primary blockchain network. The nodes of the secondary blockchain networks may comprise, for example, a portable digital assistant (PDAs) , a user equipment, a mobile computer, a desktop computer, a smart television, a gaming apparatus, a laptop computer, a media player, a camera, a video recorder, a mobile phone, a global positioning system (GPS) apparatus, a smart phone, a tablet, a server, a thin client, a virtual server, a set-top box, a computing device, a distributed system, a smart glass, a vehicle navigation system and/or any other types of electronic systems. The nodes of the secondary blockchain networks may be capable on at least one capability of computation, storage and networking. The node of the secondary blockchain networks may run with any kind of operating system including, but not limited to, Windows, Linux, UNIX, Android, iOS and their variants. The nodes of the secondary blockchain networks may be referred to as fog computing nodes, without any additional limitation by the term itself.

The terminal device 110 may include, but not limited to, an IoT device, a portable computer, an image capture device such as a digital camera, a gaming terminal device, a music storage and a playback appliance, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a voice over IP (VoIP) phone, a wireless local loop phone, a tablet, a wearable device, a personal digital assistant (PDA) , a portable computer, a desktop computer, a wearable device, a vehicle-mounted wireless device, a wireless endpoint, a mobile station, a laptop-embedded equipment (LEE) , a laptop-mounted equipment (LME) , a USB dongle, a smart device, a wireless customer-premises equipment (CPE) and the like. The terminal device may represent a device configured for communication in accordance with one or more communication standards promulgated by various standardization organizations such as 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) LTE standard or NR standard. As used herein, a terminal device may not necessarily have a “user” in the sense of a human user who owns and/or operates the relevant device. In some embodiments, a terminal device may be configured to transmit and/or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a terminal device may be designed to transmit information to a network on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the communication network.

As yet another specific example, in an IoT scenario, a terminal device may also be called an IoT device and represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring, sensing and/or measurements etc., and transmits the results of such monitoring, sensing and/or measurements etc. to another terminal device and/or a network equipment. The terminal device may in this case be a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as a machine-type communication (MTC) device.

As one particular example, the terminal device may be a UE implementing the 3GPP narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) standard. Particular examples of such machines or devices are sensors, metering devices such as power meters, industrial machinery, or home or personal appliances, e.g. refrigerators, televisions, personal wearables such as watches etc. In other scenarios, a terminal device may represent a vehicle or other equipment, for example, a medical instrument that is capable of monitoring, sensing and/or reporting etc. on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

In an embodiment, the primary blockchain network may comprise a plurality of cloud computing nodes. The secondary blockchain network may comprise a plurality of fog computing nodes. The primary and secondary blockchain networks may implement token circulation and incentives through blockchain technology as well as decentralized networks. The functions and responsibilities of the primary and secondary blockchain networks may be different. Different types of devices can access different blockchain networks to avoid the explosive growth of the general ledger. This separation of rights and responsibilities is conducive to the large-scale deployment of different types of devices such as IoT devices. It may be difficult to achieve large-scale deployment by directly integrating different types of devices such as IoT nodes into a single blockchain network. The reason is that different applications such as IoT applications may require different blockchain functions. Putting different types of devices such as IoT nodes in the single blockchain network may dramatically increase the scale and power, which will eventually make some type of devices such as IoT devices unbearable. The hierarchical blockchain network allows each blockchain network to interact with a specific type of device by means of separation of rights and responsibilities, and can also interact with other blockchain networks. In this embodiment, the entire architecture of the hierarchical blockchain network is similar to a combination of cloud computing network and fog computing network. Heterogeneous devices may form an edge/fog computing network. A small edge/fog computing network can form a large edge computing network that ultimately connects to the cloud computing network. This separation of powers and responsibilities can create a balanced and scalable system that maximizes efficiency and privacy. Unlike traditional cloud computing and fog computing, the hierarchical blockchain network can use blockchain technology to create the primary blockchain network and the secondary blockchain networks. The hierarchical blockchain network can greatly reduce the development difficulty of IoT applications.

In the secondary blockchain networks, data, data processing and applications may be concentrated in the devices at the edge of the network, rather than being almost entirely stored in the primary blockchain network. The secondary blockchain network is a blockchain network that is closer to a specific type of devices such as IoT devices. The primary blockchain network is a powerful blockchain network that is far from the specific type of devices such as IoT devices but has powerful computing, storage and networking capabilities. The hierarchical blockchain network may have a primary blockchain network and a plurality of secondary blockchain networks. Moreover, the secondary blockchain networks can be hierarchical, and the sub-secondary blockchain networks can be used to directly link with various devices such as the IoT devices. Each secondary blockchain network may have different uses, different architectures and optimization priorities. For example, a secondary blockchain network that focuses on payment scenarios does not need to run smart contracts; a secondary blockchain network running on devices with weak storage capabilities can use a special architecture to reduce storage; a secondary blockchain network running in a trusted network may not care too much about transaction privacy. The devices in the hierarchical blockchain network may be full of heterogeneous systems and nodes, with different networking, storage, and computation power. The design and optimization of the hierarchical blockchain network may be based on the weak link capability of the secondary blockchain networks, and the computation power, storage and bandwidth of the weak nodes may be given priority.

The architecture of the hierarchical blockchain network may be to couple the blockchain at the far end of the data with the blockchain at the near end of the data to realize the deployment of large-scale, low-cost devices such as IoT devices. Therefore, in the hierarchical blockchain network, there may be a plurality of blockchain networks arranged in a hierarchy, and the secondary blockchain network and the primary blockchain network can operate independently to maintain interoperability. The primary blockchain network can manage a plurality of independent secondary blockchain networks. The secondary blockchain networks may connect and interact with various devices such as IoT devices. If a secondary blockchain network does not run smoothly, such as being attacked or software bugs, the primary blockchain network and other secondary blockchain networks are completely unaffected. In addition, cross-blockchain network trading is also supported, which can transfer values or data between any two blockchain networks, for example, from the primary blockchain network to the secondary blockchain network, from the secondary blockchain network to the primary blockchain network, or from one secondary blockchain network to another secondary blockchain network.

The primary blockchain network may be a public blockchain network, and anyone can enter the public blockchain network without a permission. The primary blockchain network may have a relay function, which can realize cross-blockchain network transfer of value and data, and realize interoperability while retaining privacy. The primary blockchain network may be therefore public, and the secondary blockchain network can be either public or private. The primary blockchain network may have strong scalability, and the scalability of the secondary blockchain network can be changed according to needs. The robustness of the primary blockchain network may be very high, and the robustness of the secondary blockchain network may change according to demand. In an embodiment, the primary blockchain network and the secondary blockchain network may implement Turing complete virtual machines for smart contracts. In another embodiment, from the perspective of scalability, the secondary blockchain network may not need to implement Turing complete virtual machines for smart contracts, and the secondary blockchain network may need to implement Turing complete virtual machines for smart contracts.

The primary blockchain network can regulate the secondary blockchain networks, such as confiscation of the operators of the secondary blockchain networks by forfeiting the deposit. The primary blockchain network may focus on scalability, robustness, privacy, and the ability to monitor the secondary blockchain networks. The secondary blockchain networks can be a private chain and interact with other secondary blockchain networks by a relay function of the primary blockchain network. The secondary blockchain networks may be flexible and expandable to accommodate different applications. The secondary blockchain networks may be run by different operators and their roles may be subject to availability. Operators of the secondary blockchain networks may operate as light clients on the primary blockchain network while encapsulating new blocks with full nodes on the secondary blockchain networks.

The following transaction types may remain in the block of the primary blockchain network: node group transaction; node work report; and identity authentication transaction.

In an embodiment where the primary blockchain network comprises (2*N+1) nodes, identity authentication information with for example at least (N+1) signatures of the primary blockchain network may be chained. Through this mechanism, the system can vote to approve new nodes to join the primary blockchain network, or vote to kick out abnormal nodes or non-participants. In addition to the primary blockchain network, there may be one or more secondary blockchain networks comprising various types of devices such as IoT devices or IoT gateway nodes produced by a large number of different manufacturers. In an embodiment, all nodes on the primary blockchain network may also belong to the secondary blockchain networks. In an embodiment, the secondary blockchain network may be a distributed computing infrastructure that extends computing power and data analytics applications to the edge of the network, enabling customers to analyze and manage data locally for instant insight through connectivity.

The nodes on the secondary blockchain network may constantly read the information on the primary blockchain network to work efficiently. The information may include block production information, primary blockchain network information, legal vendor information, etc. For example, according to the block production information of the primary blockchain network, the nodes of the secondary blockchain networks may determine which node to produce the next block. In an embodiment, the block on the secondary blockchain network may also be produced by the node of the primary blockchain network. By reading the primary blockchain network information, the nodes of the secondary blockchain networks may determine the group where the current node is located, and then determine the block data to be saved, and complete the data segmentation. By reading the legal vendor information of the primary blockchain network, the nodes of the secondary blockchain networks may determine whether the data information reported by other devices is legal.

In an embodiment, the nodes of the secondary blockchain networks may report their work information to the primary blockchain network.

The transaction of the secondary blockchain network may comprise the data collection transaction and the scalable smart contract running transaction, and the consensus algorithm logic and device/data legality judgment logic may be moved up to the primary blockchain network. Thus the stability of the secondary blockchain networks and the speed of the block may be improved, and the data segmentation of the secondary blockchain networks is realized, which may reduce the requirements of the performance storage capacity required for the low-cost devices such as IoT devices or IoT gateway nodes to become a blockchain node of the primary blockchain network.

In an embodiment, there is proposed a new consensus on the base of requirements of the hierarchical blockchain network as shown in FIG. 2. In this embodiment, the primary blockchain network may comprise nodes with powerful computation power, bandwidth and storage capability. The nodes may have come into being through mass election by an approach of community poll. Eventually (2*N+1) nodes are produced, and their address information may be written into the primary blockchain network’s current block. Also, there may be multiple backup nodes who are potential block producers once at least one existing node is no longer valid to produce blocks.

A function of the primary blockchain network is to perform block production operation by using at least one of BFT, dPoS, dBFT, BFT-dPoS hybrid consensus algorithms, etc. and coordinate with the work of nodes on the secondary blockchain networks which may be close to the low-cost devices such as IoT devices or IoT gateway nodes. In an embodiment, the specific use of whichever consensus algorithm may be dependent on various factors such as the quantity of nodes on the primary blockchain network.

By using the hierarchical blockchain network, single primary blockchain network and multiple secondary blockchain networks may bring about flexibility for various application scenarios. For example, it can achieve flexible packaging approaches of blocks. Different secondary blockchain networks may take either form of chains generating blocks at high frequency and low time consumption or highly densified blocks based upon the specific application scenarios. Therefore different packaging approaches for blocks may be adopted for each secondary blockchain network, and consensus may be integrated via the primary blockchain network. The consensus integration part may be billed by nodes of the primary blockchain network.

The hierarchical blockchain network may construct an economical driven blockchain application platform and interaction standards. Some embodiments of the disclosure propose a structure of hierarchical blockchain network where different types of devices are connected to each other to form different blockchain networks, and a consensus algorithm is used to ensure legal trustworthiness of transactions between devices.

The hierarchical blockchain network can effectively circulate resources, and accelerate the progress of the IoT. On the basis of ensuring overall security and trust between blockchain networks, the hierarchical blockchain network can internalize the IoT blockchain into an IoT infrastructure like Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) , unconsciously affecting people's lives.

FIG. 2 shows a flow chart of an operational process of consensus according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

At block 202, a node of the primary blockchain network may produce a block by using a consensus algorithm. The consensus algorithm may be any suitable consensus algorithm either currently known or to be developed in the future. In an embodiment, the consensus algorithm may comprise at least one of byzantine fault tolerance (BFT) , delegated proof of stake (dPoS) , practical byzantine fault tolerance (PBFT) , delegated byzantine fault tolerance (dBFT) , or BFT-dPoS hybrid consensus algorithms.

At block 204, a node of the secondary blockchain network may generate a block of the secondary blockchain network after the node of primary blockchain network generates the block of the primary blockchain network. The consensus algorithm used by the secondary blockchain network may be any suitable consensus algorithm either currently known or to be developed in the future. In an embodiment, the consensus algorithm may comprise at least one of byzantine fault tolerance (BFT) , delegated proof of stake (dPoS) , practical byzantine fault tolerance (PBFT) , delegated byzantine fault tolerance (dBFT) , or BFT-dPoS hybrid consensus algorithms.

At block 206, the node of the secondary blockchain network may read the packet information on the primary blockchain network to determine which group it is in. The packet information may comprise group information indication which can be used by the node of the secondary blockchain network to determine which group it is in. When a device such as an IoT device first enters the network, it may register itself on the primary blockchain network.

At block 208, the node of the secondary blockchain network may select a node of the primary blockchain network to keep connected according to its own grouping information, and is used to update the block and deliver transaction information.

At block 210, the node of the secondary blockchain network may delete blocks that are not in their own group based on their own grouping information.

At block 212, the node of the secondary blockchain network may deliver its running log to the primary blockchain network through the node work report transaction to obtain the incentive.

At block 214, the node of the secondary blockchain network may send transactions to each other to call functions or send collected data.

Some embodiments of present disclosure can enable a separation of fog computing and accounting of the ledger as a comprehensive platform. In some embodiments, there may be no terminal devices such as IoT device would have the chance to produce blocks, so there is no way to obtain system token rewards by generating blocks.

In some embodiments, the terminal devices such as IoT devices can obtain incentives by providing functions and reporting key data. The economic model of the hierarchical blockchain network is open and a set of incentive mechanism to reward the terminal devices such as IoT devices or fog nodes at cooperative work in order that the entire hierarchical blockchain network can operate more healthily.

FIG. 3 shows a work flow of an economic model according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

At block 302, the nodes of the secondary blockchain network can pack their own working status into a work-report transaction such as fog-node-work-report transaction.

At block 304, the nodes of the secondary blockchain network may submit their own work-report transactions to the primary blockchain network for verification and approval. Here the work status of the nodes of the secondary blockchain network can may include any suitable information such as device status, sensor parameters, actuator parameters, alerts and key event identifiers, etc.

At block 306, the nodes of the primary blockchain network may record working status of the nodes of the secondary blockchain network.

At block 308, the nodes of the primary blockchain network may select a node of the primary blockchain network as a bookkeeper to produce a block and propose the incentive distribution scheme for the nodes of the secondary blockchain network. The nodes of the primary blockchain network may select a node of the primary blockchain network as a bookkeeper by using any suitable consensus algorithm such as at least one of byzantine fault tolerance (BFT) , delegated proof of stake (dPoS) , practical byzantine fault tolerance (PBFT) , delegated byzantine fault tolerance (dBFT) , or BFT-dPoS hybrid consensus algorithms. In an embodiment, the nodes of the primary blockchain network may select a node from the primary blockchain network in turn as a block producer to produce a data block. A customized algorithm can be employed to generate the incentive distribution scheme.

At block 310, the nodes of the primary blockchain network may vote to approve a proposal for a new block and the incentive distribution scheme. For example, the nodes of the primary blockchain network may perform a process of consensus and economic incentive or credits calculation for the current time slot of the entire network. The economic incentive or credits may be in form of token of blockchain, which service as incentives for the nodes of the secondary blockchain network to report and provide useful information, as well as the incentives for the nodes of the primary blockchain network participating consensus and performing bookkeeping.

At block 312, the new block is approved and added to the blockchain of the primary blockchain network.

At block 314, when the incentive distribution scheme is approved, a number of corresponding tokens of blockchain of the primary blockchain network may be issued by the selected node to the one or more nodes of the at least one secondary blockchain network and/or the block producer of the primary blockchain network according to the incentive distribution scheme and perform distribution. For example, when the incentive distribution scheme is approved by the voting process of all the nodes of the primary blockchain network with a specific consensus algorithm, the selected node may issue new tokens on basis of the current incentive distribution scheme in the current time slot. This process may be a kind of “mining” , but a useful mining process where useful data such as IoT data is collected and recorded for post processing and governance. This set of mechanism also addresses the issue that economic parameters of prior arts are not easily modified once set. Moreover, the openness and fairness of the mechanism of blockchain are secured from through a public algorithm and its input.

Smart contracts in the secondary blockchain networks are essential because traditional virtual machine (VM) based methods are difficult to be deployed to low end device such as IoT device to extend smart contract function in the secondary blockchain networks. The proposed hierarchical blockchain network can solve this problem.

In some embodiments, each secondary blockchain network may be developed based on the same software development kit. But different secondary blockchain networks are allowed to extend their own smart contracts at a transaction execution layer that belongs to the secondary blockchain networks rather than the primary blockchain network who had consensus capability. In prior arts, this process requires a high-end specialized smart contract VM which requires tremendous computation power, bandwidth and storage capability. These resources are not available for low-end devices such as IoT devices. The proposed hierarchical blockchain network can migrate the transaction engine into the nodes of the secondary blockchain network so that traditional development language can be used to extend smart contract in the secondary blockchain network and run directly on the operating system of the low-end devices such as IoT device, featuring high executive performance, ultra-low resource consumption and applicability for the real execution environment of the low-end devices such as IoT device. For the nodes of the primary blockchain network which own sufficient power of computation, networking and storage, can execute traditional VM based smart contract as well.

Another feature of the hierarchical blockchain network is the unique cross-chain interoperability capability as a platform. First, the cross-chain interoperability capability embodies on asset/token exchange aspect. The hierarchical blockchain network allows multiple parties to exchange assets on different blockchains and guarantees complete success or failure of all steps throughout the trading process. Smart contracts can create a contractual account for each party. For any other blockchain with a compatible smart contract feature, cross-chain asset/token exchange is feasible. Second, cross-chain distributed transaction means multiple steps of an entire transaction whose consistency is secured are implemented on separate blockchains. This is an extension to cross-chain asset exchange, whereby the behavior of asset exchange is extended into an arbitrary behavior. In an embodiment, a relay-chain or relayer role makes cross-chain smart contract possible. A single smart contract can execute different parts across multiple different blockchains, which are either completely executed or return to the status prior to execution. This may be quite useful for complicated massive IoT application scenarios.

FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of a method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, which may be performed by an apparatus implemented at a node in a primary blockchain network or communicatively coupled to a node in a primary blockchain network. As such, the apparatus may provide means for accomplishing various parts of the method 400 as well as means for accomplishing other processes in conjunction with other components. For some parts which have been described in the above embodiments, detailed description thereof is omitted here for brevity.

At block 402, the node in the primary blockchain network may receive one or more transactions originating from one or more nodes of at least one secondary blockchain network within a predetermined time slot. The predetermined time slot may be configured for example by the operator of the primary blockchain network, the manufactory of the nodes of the primary blockchain network, or a user of the primary blockchain network. The node in the primary blockchain network may receive the one or more transactions directly from the one or more nodes of at least one secondary blockchain network or from another node in the primary blockchain network which have received and broadcasted the one or more transactions in the primary blockchain network. The one or more transactions may comprise any suitable transaction information. In an embodiment, the one or more transactions may comprise respective work status report of the one or more nodes of the at least one secondary blockchain network.

At block 404, the node in the primary blockchain network may record the one or more transactions. For example, the node in the primary blockchain network may store the one or more transactions in its storage.

At block 406, the node in a primary blockchain network may select a node from the primary blockchain network as a block producer to produce a data block for storing the one or more transactions. For example, the node in a primary blockchain network may perform any suitable consensus algorithms such as at least one of byzantine fault tolerance (BFT) , delegated proof of stake (dPoS) , practical byzantine fault tolerance (PBFT) , delegated byzantine fault tolerance (dBFT) , or BFT-dPoS hybrid consensus algorithms to select a node from the primary blockchain network as a block producer to produce a data block for storing the one or more transactions. In an embodiment, the node in a primary blockchain network select a node from the primary blockchain network in turn as a block producer to produce a data block.

At block 408, the node in the primary blockchain network may approve the data block in the primary blockchain network. For example, the node in the primary blockchain network may verify the one or more transactions stored in the data block, and when the one or more transactions has been verified successfully, the node in a primary blockchain network may approve the data block.

At block 410, the node in a primary blockchain network may add the data block to a blockchain of the primary blockchain network. For example, when the node in the primary blockchain network has approved the data block, then the node in a primary blockchain network may add the data block to a blockchain of the primary blockchain network.

At block 412 (optional) , the node in a primary blockchain network may approve an incentive distribution scheme for the one or more nodes of the at least one secondary blockchain network and/or the block producer of the primary blockchain network. The data block producer of the primary blockchain network may obtain a number of tokens as an incentive to generate a data block and stimulate blockchain network scale expansion. The one or more nodes of the at least one secondary blockchain network may obtain a number of tokens as an incentive for the commission of the transaction process. The incentive distribution scheme may be proposed by the selected node by using any suitable incentive distribution algorithm. Then the selected node may broadcast the proposed incentive distribution scheme in the primary blockchain network. After receiving the incentive distribution scheme, the nodes in the primary blockchain network may approve the incentive distribution scheme by using a voting process of all nodes of the primary blockchain network under a predetermined consensus algorithm. The consensus algorithm used in the primary blockchain network may comprise at least one of byzantine fault tolerance (BFT) , delegated proof of stake (dPoS) , practical byzantine fault tolerance (PBFT) , delegated byzantine fault tolerance (dBFT) , or BFT-dPoS hybrid consensus algorithms. When the incentive distribution scheme has been approved, a number of corresponding tokens of blockchain of the primary blockchain network may be issued by the selected node to the one or more nodes of the at least one secondary blockchain network and/or the block producer of the primary blockchain network according to the incentive distribution scheme.

FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of a method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, which may be performed by an apparatus implemented in a node in a primary blockchain network or communicatively coupled to a node in a primary blockchain network. As such, the apparatus may provide means for accomplishing various parts of the method 500 as well as means for accomplishing other processes in conjunction with other components. For some parts which have been described in the above embodiments, detailed description thereof is omitted here for brevity.

At block 502, the node in the primary blockchain network may receive a relay transaction originating from a node of the at least one secondary blockchain network.

At block 504, the node in the primary blockchain network may forward the relay transaction to another blockchain network.

In this embodiment, the primary blockchain network has a relay function, which can realize cross-secondary blockchain network transfer of value and data, and realize interoperability while retaining privacy.

In an embodiment, the one or more transactions may comprise respective work status report of the one or more nodes of the at least one secondary blockchain network.

In an embodiment, the respective work status report of the one or more nodes may comprise at least one of device status, sensor parameters, actuator parameters, alerts and key event identifiers.

In an embodiment, at least one of the at least one secondary blockchain network may hierarchical, the highest level of the secondary blockchain network may be linked to the primary blockchain network and the lowest level of the secondary blockchain network may be linked to one or more terminal devices.

In an embodiment, the one or more terminal devices may comprise one or more Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

In an embodiment, the primary blockchain network may comprise a plurality of cloud computing nodes.

In an embodiment, the at least one secondary blockchain network may comprise a plurality of fog computing nodes.

In an embodiment, the secondary blockchain network and the primary blockchain network operate independently.

In an embodiment, the first and secondary blockchain networks may implement Turing complete virtual machines for smart contracts.

In an embodiment, the nodes of the primary blockchain network may be elected by an approach of community poll and the addresses of the nodes may be written into a current data block of the primary blockchain network.

In an embodiment, a zero-knowledge proof algorithm may be used between any two blockchain networks. The zero-knowledge proof algorithm can pass user intent to other hardware without passing user symbols, which not only effectively protects user privacy, but also solves the problem of worrying about user losing. De-sensitization of the user through the zero-knowledge proof algorithm enables the device to share resources based on the intent between the devices, and does not need to share data based on the user, which can effectively solve the user privacy problem.

In an embodiment, functions and responsibilities of the at least one secondary blockchain network may be different depending on respective application scenarios. The diversity of the secondary blockchain networks can match various scenarios.

FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of a method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, which may be performed by an apparatus implemented at a node in a secondary blockchain network or communicatively coupled to at a node in a secondary blockchain network. As such, the apparatus may provide means for accomplishing various parts of the method 600 as well as means for accomplishing other processes in conjunction with other components. For some parts which have been described in the above embodiments, detailed description thereof is omitted here for brevity.

At block 602, the node in a secondary blockchain network may generate one or more transactions. The one or more transactions may comprise any suitable transactions. In an embodiment, the one or more transactions comprise respective work status report of one or more nodes of the secondary blockchain network. The respective work status report of the one or more nodes may comprise at least one of device status, sensor parameters, actuator parameters, alerts and key event identifiers.

At block 604, the node in the secondary blockchain network may send the one or more transactions to a node in a primary blockchain network. When the node in the primary blockchain network has received the one or more transactions, it may perform any step of the method 400 of FIG. 4.

At block 606 (optional) , the node in the secondary blockchain network may receive a number of corresponding tokens of blockchain of the primary blockchain network. For example, the incentive distribution scheme may be proposed by the selected node and a number of corresponding tokens of blockchain of the primary blockchain network may be issued by the selected node to the one or more nodes of the at least one secondary blockchain network and/or the block producer of the primary blockchain network according to the incentive distribution scheme as described above, then the node in the secondary blockchain network may receive a number of corresponding tokens of blockchain of the primary blockchain network.

At block 608 (optional) , the node in the secondary blockchain network may send a relay transaction to the node in the primary blockchain network which forwards the relay transaction to another blockchain network. In this embodiment, the primary blockchain network has a relay function, which can realize cross-secondary blockchain network transfer of value and data, and realize interoperability while retaining privacy.

FIG. 7 shows a flowchart of a method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, which may be performed by an apparatus implemented at a node in a secondary blockchain network or communicatively coupled to at a node in a secondary blockchain network. As such, the apparatus may provide means for accomplishing various parts of the method 700 as well as means for accomplishing other processes in conjunction with other components. For some parts which have been described in the above embodiments, detailed description thereof is omitted here for brevity.

At block 702, the node in the secondary blockchain network may read the information on the primary blockchain network. For example, the node in the secondary blockchain network may read the information on the primary blockchain network for its connected node of the primary blockchain network. The information may include at least one of block production information, primary blockchain network information, legal vendor information, etc.

At block 704, according to the block production information of the primary blockchain network, the node of the secondary blockchain networks may determine which node to produce the next block. In an embodiment, the block on the secondary blockchain network may also be produced by the node of the primary blockchain network.

At block 706, the node of the secondary blockchain networks may determine a group where the node in the secondary blockchain network is located based on the primary blockchain network information. Then the node of the secondary blockchain networks may determine the block data to be saved, and complete the data segmentation.

At block 708, the node in the secondary blockchain network may determine whether data information reported by other devices is legal based on the legal vendor information.

FIG. 8 illustrates a simplified block diagram of an apparatus 810 that may be embodied in/as at a node in a primary blockchain network to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The apparatus 810 may comprise at least one processor 811, such as a data processor (DP) and at least one memory (MEM) 812 coupled to the processor 811. The apparatus 810 may further comprise a transmitter TX and receiver RX 813 coupled to the processor 811. The MEM 812 stores a program (PROG) 814. The PROG 814 may include instructions that, when executed on the associated processor 811, enable the apparatus 810 to operate in accordance with the embodiments of the present disclosure, for example to perform any of the

methods

400 and 500. A combination of the at least one processor 811 and the at least one MEM 812 may form processing means 815 adapted to implement various embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 illustrates a simplified block diagram of an apparatus 920 that may be embodied in/as at a node in a secondary blockchain network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The apparatus 920 may comprise at least one processor 921, such as a data processor (DP) and at least one memory (MEM) 922 coupled to the processor 921. The apparatus 920 may further comprise a transmitter TX and receiver RX 923 coupled to the processor 921. The MEM 922 stores a program (PROG) 924. The PROG 924 may include instructions that, when executed on the associated processor 921, enable the apparatus 920 to operate in accordance with the embodiments of the present disclosure, for example to perform any of the

methods

600 and 700. A combination of the at least one processor 921 and the at least one MEM 922 may form processing means 925 adapted to implement various embodiments of the present disclosure.

Various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by computer program executable by one or more of the

processors

811, 921, software, firmware, hardware or in a combination thereof.

The

MEMs

812 and 922 may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memories and removable memories, as non-limiting examples.

The

processors

811 and 921 may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment, and may include one or more of general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors DSPs and processors based on multicore processor architecture, as non-limiting examples.

Reference is now made to FIG. 10, which illustrates a schematic block diagram of an apparatus 1000 implemented as/at a node in a primary blockchain network. The apparatus 1000 is operable to carry out any of the

exemplary methods

400 and 500 described with reference to FIGs. 4-5 and possibly any other processes or methods.

As shown in FIG. 10, the apparatus 1000 may comprise a first receiving unit 1002 configured to receive one or more transactions originating from one or more nodes of at least one secondary blockchain network within a predetermined time slot; a recording unit 1004 configured to record the one or more transactions; a selecting unit 1006 configured to select a node from the primary blockchain network as a block producer to produce a data block for storing the one or more transactions; a first approving unit 1008 configured to approve the data block in the primary blockchain network; and an adding unit 1010 configured to add the data block to a blockchain of the primary blockchain network.

In an embodiment, the apparatus 1000 may further comprise a second approving unit (optional) 1012 configured to approve an incentive distribution scheme for the one or more nodes of the at least one secondary blockchain network and/or the block producer of the primary blockchain network. The incentive distribution scheme may be proposed by the selected node and a number of corresponding tokens of blockchain of the primary blockchain network may be issued by the selected node to the one or more nodes of the at least one secondary blockchain network and/or the block producer of the primary blockchain network according to the incentive distribution scheme.

In an embodiment, the apparatus 1000 may further comprise a second receiving unit (optional) 1014 configured to receive a relay transaction originating from a node of the at least one secondary blockchain network; and a forwarding unit (optional) 1016 configured to forward the relay transaction to another blockchain network.

Reference is now made to FIG. 11, which illustrates a schematic block diagram of an apparatus 1100 implemented as/at a node in a secondary blockchain network. The apparatus 1100 is operable to carry out any of the

exemplary methods

600 and 700 described with reference to FIGs. 6-7 and possibly any other processes or methods.

As shown in FIG. 11, the apparatus 1100 may comprise a generating unit 1102 configured to generate one or more transactions; and a first sending unit 1104 configured to send the one or more transactions to a node in a primary blockchain network.

In an embodiment, the apparatus may further comprise a receiving unit (optional) 1106 configured to receive a number of corresponding tokens of blockchain of the primary blockchain network.

In an embodiment, the apparatus may further comprise a second sending unit (optional) 1108 configured to send a relay transaction to the node in the primary blockchain network which forwards the relay transaction to another blockchain network.

In an embodiment, the apparatus may further comprise a reading unit (optional) 1110 configured to read information on the primary blockchain network including at least one of block production information, primary blockchain network information and legal vendor information, a first determining unit (optional) 1112 configured to determine which node to produce a next block based on the block production information, a second determining unit (optional) 1114 configured to determine a group where the node in the secondary blockchain network is located based on the primary blockchain network information; and a third determining unit (optional) 1116 configured to determine whether data information reported by other devices is legal based on the legal vendor information.

According to an aspect of the disclosure it is provided a computer program product being tangibly stored on a computer readable storage medium and including instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out any of the methods related to the node in a primary blockchain network as described above.

According to an aspect of the disclosure it is provided a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions which when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out any of the methods related to the node in a secondary blockchain network as described above.

According to an aspect of the disclosure it is provided a blockchain network. The blockchain network comprises a primary blockchain network as described above and at least one secondary blockchain network as described above.

In addition, the present disclosure may also provide a carrier containing the computer program as mentioned above, wherein the carrier is one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal, or computer readable storage medium. The computer readable storage medium can be, for example, an optical compact disk or an electronic memory device like a RAM (random access memory) , a ROM (read only memory) , Flash memory, magnetic tape, CD-ROM, DVD, Blue-ray disc and the like.

The invention reduces the complexity of hardware development by software-defining hardware. However, even if the abstraction layer of the system is defined, how to form a unified ecology between hardware and hardware, and to drive the integration between different systems through economic means. Therefore, some embodiments of the present disclosure construct an economical driven blockchain application platform and interaction standards. In the structure of parallel blockchains, devices are connected to each other to form a distributed network, and a consensus algorithm is used to ensure legal trustworthiness of transactions between devices. At the same time, different types of equipment can access different parallel blockchains to avoid the explosive growth of the general ledger.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure propose Software-defined IoT resources. The hardware of the Internet of Things is limited by cost design. Therefore, it is impossible to add additional functions to existing devices, but in a relative hardware ecosystem, it is economically driven to allow various devices to open their own functions and thus gain more benefits. That is to say, when an IoT hardware needs to provide its own value to other services or hardware, it can propose a charging strategy for response. According to the different IoT devices, abstraction from the real world, mapping existing entities, and providing consistent calls in the form of services. This software-defined IoT resource drives the hardware to open its own capabilities by sharing revenues, decentralized to obtain profits, rather than gaining profits through a centralized monopoly.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure propose digital assetization of IoT resources. The resource settlement of IoT devices requires a relatively stable weighting and measurement where the token scheme of a blockchain can provide such a function. When an application uses the Internet of Things resources in the network according to the embodiments of the present disclosure, it needs to pledge or consume a certain number of tokens for benchmarking. Through smart contracts, the embodiments of the present disclosure can coordinately interact and contract on the blockchain in a smart contract.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure propose IoT resource transaction configuration. Related nodes may purchase and use resources in a semi-automated manner through customized policies.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure propose data privacy protection solution. A particularly important issue in the current Internet of Things is user privacy. User privacy protection for the Internet of Things is extremely fragile. Because user data is collected in large quantities through sensors, it is very easy to predict user behavior. Moreover, in the prior art, even if the OpenID method is used, the user data is desensitized, and as long as the multiple dimensions are compared, it is easy to deduct the identity of the user. In response to this problem, some embodiments of the present disclosure use a zero-knowledge proof algorithm to pass user intent to other hardware without passing user symbols, which not only effectively protects user privacy, but also solves the problem of worrying about user losing. De-sensitization of the user through the zero-knowledge proof algorithm enables the device to share resources based on the intent between the devices, and does not need to share data based on the user, which can effectively solve the user privacy problem.

The techniques described herein may be implemented by various means so that an apparatus implementing one or more functions of a corresponding apparatus described with an embodiment comprises not only prior art means, but also means for implementing the one or more functions of the corresponding apparatus described with the embodiment and it may comprise separate means for each separate function or means that may be configured to perform two or more functions. For example, these techniques may be implemented in hardware (one or more apparatuses) , firmware (one or more apparatuses) , software (one or more modules) , or combinations thereof. For a firmware or software, implementation may be made through modules (e.g., procedures, functions, and so on) that perform the functions described herein.

Exemplary embodiments herein have been described above with reference to block diagrams and flowchart illustrations of methods and apparatuses. It will be understood that each block of the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations, respectively, can be implemented by various means including computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be loaded onto a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus create means for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart block or blocks.

Further, while operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Likewise, while several specific implementation details are contained in the above discussions, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the subject matter described herein, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments. Certain features that are described in the context of separate embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable sub-combination.

While this specification contains many specific implementation details, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of any implementation or of what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments of particular implementations. Certain features that are described in this specification in the context of separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable sub-combination. Moreover, although features may be described above as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more features from a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from the combination, and the claimed combination may be directed to a sub-combination or variation of a sub-combination.

It will be obvious to a person skilled in the art that, as the technology advances, the inventive concept can be implemented in various ways. The above described embodiments are given for describing rather than limiting the disclosure, and it is to be understood that modifications and variations may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as those skilled in the art readily understand. Such modifications and variations are considered to be within the scope of the disclosure and the appended claims. The protection scope of the disclosure is defined by the accompanying claims.

Claims

A method (400) at a node in a primary blockchain network, comprising:

receiving (402) one or more transactions originating from one or more nodes of at least one secondary blockchain network within a predetermined time slot;

recording (404) the one or more transactions;

selecting (406) a node from the primary blockchain network as a block producer to produce a data block for storing the one or more transactions;

approving (408) the data block in the primary blockchain network; and

adding (410) the data block to a blockchain of the primary blockchain network.
The method according to claim 1, further comprising

approving (412) an incentive distribution scheme for the one or more nodes of the at least one secondary blockchain network and/or the block producer of the primary blockchain network; and

wherein the incentive distribution scheme is proposed by the selected node and a number of corresponding tokens of blockchain of the primary blockchain network is issued by the selected node to the one or more nodes of the at least one secondary blockchain network and/or the block producer of the primary blockchain network according to the incentive distribution scheme.
The method according to claim 2, wherein approving the incentive distribution scheme comprises approving the incentive distribution scheme by using a voting process of all nodes of the primary blockchain network under a predetermined consensus algorithm.
The method according to any of claims 1-3, wherein a consensus algorithm used in the primary blockchain network comprises at least one of byzantine fault tolerance (BFT) , delegated proof of stake (dPoS) , practical byzantine fault tolerance (PBFT) , delegated byzantine fault tolerance (dBFT) , or BFT-dPoS hybrid consensus algorithms.
The method according to any of claims 1-4, further comprising

receiving (502) a relay transaction originating from a node of the at least one secondary blockchain network; and

forwarding (504) the relay transaction to another blockchain network.
The method according to any of claims 1-5, wherein the one or more transactions comprise respective work status report of the one or more nodes of the at least one secondary blockchain network.
The method according to claim 6, wherein the respective work status report of the one or more nodes comprises at least one of device status, sensor parameters, actuator parameters, alerts and key event identifiers.
The method according to any of claims 1-7, wherein at least one of the at least one secondary blockchain network is hierarchical, the highest level of the secondary blockchain network is linked to the primary blockchain network and the lowest level of the secondary blockchain network is linked to one or more terminal devices.
The method according to claim 8, wherein the one or more terminal devices comprise one or more Internet of Things (IoT) devices.
The method according to any of claims 1-9, wherein the primary blockchain network comprises a plurality of cloud computing nodes.
The method according to any of claims 1-10, wherein the at least one secondary blockchain network comprises a plurality of fog computing nodes.
The method according to any of claims 1-11, wherein the secondary blockchain network and the primary blockchain network operate independently.
The method according to any of claims 1-12, wherein the primary and secondary blockchain networks implement Turing complete virtual machines for smart contracts.
The method according to any of claims 1-13, wherein the nodes of the primary blockchain network are elected by an approach of community poll and the addresses of the nodes are written into a current data block of the primary blockchain network.
The method according to any of claims 1-14, wherein a zero-knowledge proof algorithm is used between any two blockchain networks.
The method according to any of claims 1-15, wherein selecting a node from the primary blockchain network as a block producer to produce a data block comprises selecting a node from the primary blockchain network in turn as a block producer to produce a data block.
The method according to any of claims 1-16, wherein functions and responsibilities of the at least one secondary blockchain network is different depending on respective application scenarios.
A method (600) at a node in a secondary blockchain network, comprising:

generating (602) one or more transactions; and

sending (604) the one or more transactions to a node in a primary blockchain network.
The method according to claim 18, further comprising

receiving (606) a number of corresponding tokens of blockchain of the primary blockchain network.
The method according to any of claims 18-19, further comprising

sending (608) a relay transaction to the node in the primary blockchain network which forwards the relay transaction to another blockchain network.
The method according to any of claims 18-20, further comprising

reading (702) information on the primary blockchain network including at least one of block production information, primary blockchain network information and legal vendor information;

determining (704) which node to produce a next block based on the block production information; and/or

determining (706) a group where the node in the secondary blockchain network is located based on the primary blockchain network information; and/or

determining (708) whether data information reported by other devices is legal based on the legal vendor information.
The method according to any of claims 18-21, wherein the one or more transactions comprise respective work status report of one or more nodes of the secondary blockchain network.
The method according to claim 22, wherein the respective work status report of the one or more nodes comprises at least one of device status, sensor parameters, actuator parameters, alerts and key event identifiers.
The method according to any of claims 18-23, wherein the secondary blockchain network is hierarchical, the highest level of the secondary blockchain network is linked to the primary blockchain network and the lowest level of the secondary blockchain network is linked to one or more terminal devices.
The method according to claim 24, wherein the one or more terminal devices comprise one or more Internet of Things (IoT) devices.
The method according to any of claims 18-25, wherein the primary blockchain network comprises a plurality of cloud computing nodes.
The method according to any of claims 18-26, wherein the secondary blockchain network comprises a plurality of fog computing nodes.
The method according to any of claims 18-27, wherein the secondary blockchain network and the primary blockchain network operate independently.
The method according to any of claims 18-28, wherein the primary and secondary blockchain networks implement Turing complete virtual machines for smart contracts.
The method according to any of claims 18-29, wherein the nodes of the primary blockchain network are elected by an approach of community poll and the addresses of the nodes are written into a current data block of the primary blockchain network.
The method according to any of claims 18-30, wherein a zero-knowledge proof algorithm is used between any two blockchain networks.
An apparatus (810) at a node in a primary blockchain network, comprising:

a processor (811) ; and

a memory (812) coupled to the processor (811) , said memory (812) containing instructions executable by said processor (811) , whereby said apparatus (810) is operative to:

receive one or more transactions originating from one or more nodes of at least one secondary blockchain network within a predetermined time slot;

record the one or more transactions;

select a node from the primary blockchain network as a block producer to produce a data block for storing the one or more transactions;

approve the data block in the primary blockchain network; and

add the data block to a blockchain of the primary blockchain network.
The apparatus according to claim 32 wherein the apparatus is further operative to perform the method of any one of claims 2 to 17.
An apparatus (920) at a node in a secondary blockchain network, comprising:

a processor (921) ; and

a memory (922) coupled to the processor (921) , said memory (922) containing instructions executable by said processor (921) , whereby said apparatus (920) is operative to:

generate one or more transactions; and

send the one or more transactions to a node in a primary blockchain network.
The apparatus according to claims 34, wherein the apparatus is further operative to perform the method of any one of claims 19 to 31.
A blockchain network (100) , comprising a primary blockchain network (102) comprising a plurality of apparatus (810) according to any of claims 32 or 33 and at least one secondary blockchain network (104, 106, 108) comprising a plurality of apparatus (920) according to any of claims 34 or 35.
A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions which when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 31.
A computer program product comprising instructions which when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform the method according to any of claims 1 to 31.