Year: 2023
Type: article
Abstract: As all software, blockchain nodes are exposed to faults in their underlying execution stack. Unstable execution environments can disrupt the availability of blockchain nodes’ interfaces, resulting in downtime for users. This article introduces the concept of N-Version Blockchain nodes. This new type of node relies on simultaneous execution of different implementations of the same blockchain protocol, in the line of Avizienis’ N-Version programming vision. We design and implement an N-Version blockchain node prototype in the context of Ethereum, calledN-ETH. We show thatN-ETHis able to mitigate the effects of unstable execution environments and significantly enhance availability under environment faults. To simulate unstable execution environments, we perform fault injection at the system-call level. Our results show that existing Ethereum node implementations behave asymmetrically under identical instability scenarios.N-ETHleverages this asymmetric behavior available in the diverse implementations of Ethereum nodes to provide increased availability, even under our most aggressive fault-injection strategies. We are the first to validate the relevance of N-Version design in the domain of blockchain infrastructure. From an industrial perspective, our results are of utmost importance for businesses operating blockchain nodes, including Google, ConsenSys, and many other major blockchain companies.
Institution: KTH Royal Institute of Technology
Language: English
Subfield: Computer Networks and Communications
Field: Computer Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $2,345
OpenAlex ID: W4390120215