When Internet of Things meets blockchain: challenges in distributed consensus

Cao, B., Li, Y., Zhang, L. , Zhang, L., Mumtaz, S., Zhou, Z. and Peng, M. (2019) When Internet of Things meets blockchain: challenges in distributed consensus. IEEE Network, 33(6), pp. 133-139. (doi: 10.1109/MNET.2019.1900002)

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Abstract

Blockchain has been regarded as a promising technology for IoT, since it provides significant solutions for decentralized networks that can address trust and security concerns, high maintenance cost problems, and so on. The decentralization provided by blockchain can be largely attributed to the use of a consensus mechanism, which enables peer-to-peer trading in a distributed manner without the involvement of any third party. This article starts by introducing the basic concept of blockchain and illustrating why a consensus mechanism plays an indispensable role in a blockchain enabled IoT system. Then we discuss the main ideas of two famous consensus mechanisms, PoW and PoS, and list their limitations in IoT. Next, two mainstream DAG based consensus mechanisms, the Tangle and Hashgraph, are reviewed to show why DAG consensus is more suitable for IoT system than PoW and PoS. Potential issues and challenges of DAG based consensus mechanisms to be addressed in the future are discussed in the last section.

Item Type:Articles
Additional Information:This work was supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (61701059, 61831002), the State Major Science and Technology Special Projects (2017ZX03001025-06), and the Beijing Natural Science Foundation under Grant No. JQ18016.
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Zhang, Professor Lei
Authors: Cao, B., Li, Y., Zhang, L., Zhang, L., Mumtaz, S., Zhou, Z., and Peng, M.
College/School:College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Systems Power and Energy
Journal Name:IEEE Network
Publisher:IEEE
ISSN:0890-8044
ISSN (Online):0890-8044
Published Online:10 July 2019
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2019 IEEE
First Published:First published in IEEE Network 33(6):133-139
Publisher Policy:Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy

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