Design and implementation of a blockchain-based task sharing service for edge computing servers using the Hyperledger Fabric platform
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Date
2022-10-06
Authors
Vera-Rivera, Angelo
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Abstract
The efficient administration of network resources in Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) is an active research topic these days. Task sharing, in particular, is one of the fundamental problems regarding MEC architectures although the existing literature approaches the topic mostly from the mobile user point of view. This work explores the use of blockchain technologies for developing a secure and private task sharing model specially designed for edge computing servers. The collaboration scheme aims to increase the utilization of computing resources at the edge layer of MEC networks. The suggested solution operates on a decentralized approach that counts on the blockchain services provided by the Hyperledger Fabric platform. The model offers enhanced security features that leverage the permission-ed nature of Fabric, more specifically, it relies on Fabric’s membership service to validate identities and allowed behavior of participant nodes in the network. This design choice restrains external attackers from interfering with the normal operation of the task sharing scheme. The model also offers enhanced privacy features powered by a smart contract design that makes use of multiple decoupled Fabric channels with separate operation rules, ledgers, and peer-to-peer communication networks. This design choice guarantees that the computational tasks circulating in the network are only exposed to servers participating in task sharing services. The trait prevents other actors in the blockchain to have access to private tasks and their data. The contribution of this thesis can be summarized as follows: (1) a conceptual framework for task sharing collaboration in MEC networks using the Hyperledger Fabric platform, (2) a design of the task sharing model at the blockchain and edge server levels, and finally, (3) the implementation details of "EdgeChain", a proof of concept demo for the proposed solution.
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Keywords
Consortium Blockchain, Hyperledger Fabric, Multi-Access Edge Computing, Next-Gen Communication Networks, Task Sharing