Scalability and Composability in Distributed Ledgers

分布式账本的可扩展性和可组合性

• 批准号: RGPIN-2019-04910
• 负责人: Golab, Wojciech
• 金额: $ 2.48万
• 依托单位: University of Waterloo
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2020-01-01 至 2021-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=715229
• 关键词: Scalability; Composability; Distributed; Ledgers

Blockchain is the next frontier of distributed computing, and its rapid ascent from white papers to top-tier publications and multi-million dollar startups has caught the attention of both academics and practitioners. Much of the discussion surrounding blockchains, and more generally distributed ledgers, revolves around two fundamental questions: (i) will they scale to meet current and emerging demands, and (ii) can we trust their correctness? These questions will be answered through a multi-faceted research program that will engage both empirical and theoretical methodologies. NSERC-funded research activities will address the following short-term objectives: Objective 1: Scalability through composability. Scalability has been recognized as a major weakness of distributed ledgers, leading to a search for designs that compose multiple independent services by combining their outputs carefully to obtain a global ordering over transactions. This objective will focus on developing an understanding of how such compositions can be achieved correctly, and how they affect the inherent trade-off between throughput and latency. Objective 2: Streamlining execution in the absence of failures. Blockchain protocols are complex as they must handle both concurrency and failures, and can be simplified substantially in absence of failures. This objective will investigate performance optimizations that speed up blockchains in failure-free operation while maintaining correctness even under adverse conditions. Modular designs will be developed that can be combined with a variety of existing blockchain protocols. Objective 3: Understanding consistency-latency trade-offs. A blockchain protocol must validate transactions to prevent double-spending and ensure data consistency. This objective will develop an understanding of how much latency is required to detect double-spending within a given probability threshold, which can be viewed as a consistency-latency trade-off similar to those encountered in NoSQL storage systems. Objective 4: Foundations and applications. This objective will examine the theoretical foundations of distributed ledgers, and gain a deeper empirical understanding of their performance trade-offs. Research outcomes may include rigorous definitions of correctness properties, proofs of theoretical complexity bounds, and empirical performance evaluations. The proposed research program will elevate Canada to the forefront of research in blockchain technology by generating concrete software prototypes as well as scientific publications describing protocols, proofs of correctness, and performance comparisons. Trainees engaged in NSERC-funded activities will flourish in an experiential learning environment where they will work hands-on with state-of-the-art cloud infrastructure and interact with industry partners, while developing technical skills vital to Canada's increasingly data-driven economy.

区块链是分布式计算的下一个前沿，它从白皮书到顶级出版物的快速上升，数百万美元的初创公司引起了学者和从业者的关注。 围绕区块链以及更普遍分布的分类帐的许多讨论都围绕两个基本问题：（i）他们会扩展以满足当前和新兴的需求，并且（ii）我们可以相信它们的正确性吗？ 这些问题将通过一项多方面的研究计划来回答，该计划将参与经验和理论方法。 NSERC资助的研究活动将解决以下短期目标： 目标1：可伸缩性。 可伸缩性被认为是分布式分类帐的主要弱点，从而搜索了通过仔细组合其输出以获得交易的全球订购来构成多个独立服务的设计。该目标将集中于对如何正确实现此类组成以及它们如何影响吞吐量和潜伏期之间的固有权衡。 目标2：在没有故障的情况下简化执行。 区块链协议很复杂，因为它们必须处理并发和失败，并且在没有故障的情况下可以大大简化。该目标将调查性能优化，以加快无故障操作中的区块链，同时即使在不利条件下也保持正确性。 将开发模块化设计，可以与各种现有的区块链协议结合使用。 目标3：了解一致性延迟权衡。 区块链协议必须验证交易以防止双重支出并确保数据一致性。 该目标将对在给定概率阈值中检测双支出所需的延迟需要发展，这可以看作是与NOSQL存储系统中遇到的一致性延迟权衡。 目标4：基础和应用。 该目标将研究分布式分类帐的理论基础，并对他们的绩效权衡获得更深入的经验理解。研究成果可能包括正确性属性的严格定义，理论复杂性界限的证明以及经验绩效评估。 拟议的研究计划将通过生成具体软件原型以及描述协议，正确性证明和性能比较的科学出版物，将加拿大提升到区块链技术研究的最前沿。 从事NSERC资助的活动的学员将在体验式学习环境中蓬勃发展，在那里他们将与最先进的云基础架构动手合作，并与行业合作伙伴互动，同时发展对加拿大日益数据驱动的经济至关重要的技术技能。