Flexico: An efficient dual-mode consensus protocol for blockchain networks

【Author】 Ren, Shuyang; Lee, Choonhwa; Kim, Eunsam; Helal, Sumi

【Source】PLOS ONE

【影响因子】3.752

【Abstract】Blockchain is a Byzantine fault tolerant (BFT) system wherein decentralized nodes execute consensus protocols to drive the agreement process on new blocks added to a distributed ledger. Generally, two-round communications among 3 f + 1 nodes are required to tolerate up to f faults in BFT-based consensus networks. This communication pattern corresponds to the worse-case scenario of consensus achievement, even under asynchronous network conditions. Nevertheless, it is not uncommon for a network to operate under better conditions, where a consensus can be reached with a lower communication cost. Hence, with the addition of a faster optimistic path toward an agreement, the idea of dual-mode consensus has been proposed as a promising approach to enhance the performance of asynchronous BFT protocols. However, this opportunity is not completely exploited by existing dual-mode protocols as the fast path can be followed only in a nonfaulty and synchronous network. This article presents a novel dual-mode protocol consisting of fast and backup subprotocols. To create different consensus committees for fast and backup-mode operations, the network contains both active and passive nodes. A consensus can be expedited through a fast-mode operation when majority of the active nodes can communicate synchronously. Under non-ideal conditions, the backup protocol takes over the agreement process from its fast-mode counterpart without starting over the suspended round. The safety and liveness of the proposed protocol are guaranteed with lower communication costs, which balance the trade-off between protocol efficiency and availability.

【Keywords】

【发表时间】2022 3-Nov

【收录时间】2023-04-17

【文献类型】理论模型

【主题类别】

区块链技术-核心技术-共识机制