BlockQoS: Fair Monetization of On-demand Quality-of-Service using Blockchains

Abstract

Video conferencing has become an essential tool for working from home. However, poor audio/video quality resulting from unstable Internet connections undermines the productivity of important tasks. Additionally, the static monetization model for ISP networks, which employs third parties, cannot support on-demand and dynamic Quality-of-Service sessions that are necessary to maximize the Quality-of-Experience of video conferencing. To address this, we introduce BlockQoS: Fair Monetization of On-Demand Quality-of-Service using Blockchains. BlockQoS allows clients to request and manage their Quality-of-Service requirements through a blockchain-based platform operating using a smart contract. It implements a decentralized monetization model to eliminate third parties, enforce transparency in service level agreements, and reduce blockchain operating costs by utilizing off-chain billing validated using zero-knowledge proofs (zk-SNARK). Additionally, we propose a Quality-of-Service delivery verification mechanism that enforces service level agreements on the hardware external to the blockchain, and a dynamic evaluation method based on the concept of Nash equilibrium in game theory that prevents malicious behavior by ISPs and users. We implemented BlockQoS over Ethereum with a Ryu controller, zk-SNARK, and SGX. Our experiments show that BlockQoS offers transaction cost reduction of up to 88% (gas cost) and latency reduction of up to 87% compared to the state-of-the-art on-chain solutions.

GATE-BC: Genetic Algorithm-Powered QoS-Aware Cross-Network Traffic Engineering in Blockchain- Enabled SDN

“…This protocol documents route information and provides incentives to brokers. The BlockQoS framework [30] uses BC to monetize on-demand QoS, utilizing a SCbased system. This decentralized approach eliminates middlemen, establishes SLAs, and reduces BC operating costs through off-chain invoicing confirmed by zero-knowledge proofs (zk-SNARK).…”

CITE-PSO: Cross-ISP Traffic Engineering Enhanced by Particle Swarm Optimization in Blockchain Enabled SDONs

“…For self-organizing, non-cooperative MANETs, the authors want to develop a multi-hop routing protocol called Data Broker within the BC framework. The BlockQoS framework is proposed in [51] to utilize BCs to achieve equitable monetization of on-demand QoS. The BlockQoS platform enables clients to efficiently manage their QoS needs using a BCbased system that operates via a smart contract.…”