CloudChain: A Cloud Blockchain Using Shared Memory Consensus and RDMA

TL;DR

CloudChain introduces a cloud-optimized blockchain system that leverages shared memory and RDMA technology to enhance efficiency and security in permissioned cloud environments.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel cloud-oriented blockchain architecture using shared memory consensus and RDMA, optimized for closely-coupled cloud servers.

Findings

Shared-memory consensus algorithm ensures security properties.

Prototype implementation demonstrates feasibility and efficiency.

Experimental results validate improved performance in cloud settings.

Abstract

Blockchain technologies can enable secure computing environments among mistrusting parties. Permissioned blockchains are particularly enlightened by companies, enterprises, and government agencies due to their efficiency, customizability, and governance-friendly features. Obviously, seamlessly fusing blockchain and cloud computing can significantly benefit permissioned blockchains; nevertheless, most blockchains implemented on clouds are originally designed for loosely-coupled networks where nodes communicate asynchronously, failing to take advantages of the closely-coupled nature of cloud servers. In this paper, we propose an innovative cloud-oriented blockchain -- CloudChain, which is a modularized three-layer system composed of the network layer, consensus layer, and blockchain layer. CloudChain is based on a shared-memory model where nodes communicate synchronously by direct memory accesses. We realize the shared-memory model with the Remote Direct Memory Access technology, based on which we propose a shared-memory consensus algorithm to ensure presistence and liveness, the two crucial blockchain security properties countering Byzantine nodes. We also implement a CloudChain prototype based on a RoCEv2-based testbed to experimentally validate our design, and the results verify the feasibility and efficiency of CloudChain.