Blockchain for Mobile Edge Computing: Consensus Mechanisms and Scalability

TL;DR

This paper reviews blockchain consensus mechanisms and scalability solutions to support mobile edge computing, highlighting their benefits, challenges, and suitability for managing distributed MEC services in next-generation networks.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive evaluation of blockchain consensus protocols and scalability techniques tailored for MEC, identifying the most suitable solutions for distributed resource management.

Findings

Consensus protocols vary in scalability and security.

Scalability remains a key challenge for blockchain in MEC.

Certain blockchain architectures are more suitable for MEC applications.

Abstract

Mobile edge computing (MEC) and next-generation mobile networks are set to disrupt the way intelligent and autonomous systems are interconnected. This will have an effect on a wide range of domains, from the Internet of Things to autonomous mobile robots. The integration of such a variety of MEC services in a inherently distributed architecture requires a robust system for managing hardware resources, balancing the network load and securing the distributed applications. Blockchain technology has emerged a solution for managing MEC services, with consensus protocols and data integrity checks that enable transparent and efficient distributed decision-making. In addition to transparency, the benefits from a security point of view are evident. Nonetheless, blockchain technology faces significant challenges in terms of scalability. In this chapter, we review existing consensus protocols and scalability techniques in both well-established and next-generation blockchain architectures. From this, we evaluate the most suitable solutions for managing MEC services and discuss the benefits and drawbacks of the available alternatives.