EdgeChain: An Edge-IoT Framework and Prototype Based on Blockchain and Smart Contracts

Abstract

The emerging Internet of Things (IoT) is facing significant scalability and security challenges. On the one hand, IoT devices are "weak" and need external assistance. Edge computing provides a promising direction addressing the deficiency of centralized cloud computing in scaling massive number of devices. On the other hand, IoT devices are also relatively "vulnerable" facing malicious hackers due to resource constraints. The emerging blockchain and smart contracts technologies bring a series of new security features for IoT and edge computing. In this paper, to address the challenges, we design and prototype an edge-IoT framework named "EdgeChain" based on blockchain and smart contracts. The core idea is to integrate a permissioned blockchain and the internal currency or "coin" system to link the edge cloud resource pool with each IoT device' account and resource usage, and hence behavior of the IoT devices. EdgeChain uses a credit-based resource management system to control how much resource IoT devices can obtain from edge servers, based on pre-defined rules on priority, application types and past behaviors. Smart contracts are used to enforce the rules and policies to regulate the IoT device behavior in a non-deniable and automated manner. All the IoT activities and transactions are recorded into blockchain for secure data logging and auditing. We implement an EdgeChain prototype and conduct extensive experiments to evaluate the ideas. The results show that while gaining the security benefits of blockchain and smart contracts, the cost of integrating them into EdgeChain is within a reasonable and acceptable range.

Blockchain Smart Contracts on IOT

“…With NECTAR took care of and successfully handled the issue of improving the security, precision and undeniable status of sharp gets that are executed as an element of exchange endorsement on the blockchain. Evidences of right executions are then fused into blockchain transactions [7].The creating IOT is going up against basic flexibility and secure challenges .Of two one hand, IOT devices are "fragile" & require outer help . Corner figuring ensures bearing watching out for the insufficiency of bound together appropriated registering in scaling immense number contraptions.…”

A Security Transmission and Storage Solution about Sensing Image for Blockchain in the Internet of Things

“…At the same time, the system proposes a cache strategy based on edge computing to improve the hit rate. Pan et al [7] designed and prototyped an edge IoT framework based on blockchain and smart contracts. The core idea is to integrate the licensed blockchain with an internal currency or system to link the edge cloud resource pool with each IoT device's linked account and resource usage, as well as the behavior of the IoT device.…”

Decentralized Beacons: Attesting the Ground Truth of Blockchain State for Constrained IoT Devices

“…While not always, these systems are more suitable for authenticating information transferred from the IoT device, but less frequently they address authentication and validating blockchain state as transferred to the device. While not explicitly using a trusted gateway, IoT devices are often used as full nodes on a (small) private network, either implying the use of an IoT-friendly blockchain, or the use of gateways in a more realistic, fullscale deployment [8]. Similarly, the proposed overlay network by Dorri et al [9] establishes a layer of trusted nodes, pushing the security boundary outside of the most constrained nodes on the network.…”

“…More formally, we define a decentralized beacon to be a mechanism for transporting an attestation A = f A (b n ) for block n, and f A is a function of the block identified by its block hash b n where its result satisfies the property that b n can be inferred from it. 8 For Ethereum, we place the attestation A to a transaction's data portion, T d = A, set the target address to the trusted party's own address a s (or other predefined address), T t = a s , the transaction sequence number T n to the next sequence number, 9 and transaction value to zero T v = 0. The gas limit T g is set to a sufficient value.…”