1.1 Introduction
A Blockchain is a distributed database that is shared among the nodes of a computer network and makes use of cryptographically signed transactions. It operates in a blockwise manner, with each block linked with a cryptographic system. This ledger technology is made up of several nodes on the network that recieve, store and record data, and because these nodes on the network are distributed and decentralized they therefore have to agree on the data that will be stored and recorded on the blockchain (Adam, 2022). One of the most important components to blockchain is this idea of group consensus, and even though it might appear odd, blockchain is a very inefficient system. A blockchain-based system should be decentralized, trust less, collectively maintainable, reliable and anonymous. Decentralized: there is no central organization in the whole network and even if a node crashes, the whole system will still be up. Therefore, the block chain system is very robust.
As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.
1.2 Background of Study
Blockchain technology is one of the newest, hottest and most intriguing technologies currently in the market. The technology is capable of providing a secure, transparent, and efficient processes for Entrepreneurs, startup companies, investors, global organizations and governments. Block Chain technology is a digital ledger which uses bit coin or other crypto currency to conduct transactions which are recorded chronologically and publicly. The technology, which can be described as a diary is difficult to forge. The block chain is definitely a resourceful invention that has grown significantly in use with an estimated market size of over 540 Million DOllars in 2018. Block chain was conceptualized and distributed by Satoshi Nakamato in 2008.
The technology is capable of holding a secure history of data exchanges, use a peer-to-peer network to time stamp and verify each exchange, and can autonomously be managed without a central authority. This constitutes the backbone of digital currencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. It is expected that as the technology is widely accepted the decentralized Block Chain system will impact positively on the way business is transacted and managed and also transform banks, financial institutions, and other firms.
The process requests multiple nodes, sometimes tens of thousands of computer nodes, to all repeat the same work, they’re all keeping a copy of the same data. The reason this tremendous inefficiency is agreed upon is because if all, or most, of those nodes can agree on what the truth is, then there exists a lot of trust that that’s actually the truth and that the record hasn’t been tampered with or altered in any way, and this is why fault tolerance on a blockchain is at the base of .0 the blockchain (Demiro, 2019).
A fault-tolerant mechanism is a consensus mechanism used in a blockchain to reach an agreement on a single state of the network among the distributed nodes on the network. For example, every block in a blockchain is like a sheet of paper, it has a fixed amount of space. A transaction is written on every line, and when that sheet of paper is full the sheets are gathered and compared and a sheet or the version of the paper that the majority agree with is selected. The consensus is a way to ensure the nodes on the network verify the transactions, and agree with their order and existence on the ledger; (Coinmonks, 2019). In the case of applications like a cryptocurrency, this process is critical to prevent double spending or other invalid data being written to the underlying ledger, the database of all the transactions.
Fault tolerant mechanisms are essential in a decentralized world where there are no middlemen and where trust has truly become decentralized, with the trustless movement of value.
Proof-of-work is a fault tolerance mechanism that helps the nodes on a blockchain network come to an agreement. It is the fault tolerant mechanism used by Bitcoin, the first successful application of blockchain technology. In Proof of Work or PoW, users in the blockchain network who want to create the next block (and win the reward) are called miners. To win the right to mine a block, miners race to find an acceptable solution to a “hard” cryptographic problem. When a miner finds an acceptable solution, they create a block and broadcast it to the network, finalising that block and all the transactions in it (Demiro, 2019).
1.3 Statement of Problem
Investigation revealed that block chain technology has not been legally accepted in Nigeria even though it is currently being propagated among the people and in the social media. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has public warned Nigerians to beware of investments in crypto currencies, stating that virtual currencies are not accepted legal tenders in the country. This lack of government support constitutes a major setback to the growth and acceptability of the technology. The block chain is definitely a resourceful invention that has grown significantly in use with an estimated market size of over 540 Million Dollars in 2018.
Bitcoin was the first successful application of Blockchain technology, a technology that since it’s inception has been making waves, and it will not be the last successful application of this technology. As such, this work uses the Bitcoin blockchain as a case study, and provides a cloud computing solution to the problems that the Bitcoin Blockchain currently has, because of its consensus mechanism.
Finding and building a more energy efficient, cost effective and highly scalable Blockchain consensus mechanism will help in the adoption of Blockchain technology, and in it’s application in several sectors and areas of technology, including CyberSecurity, Finance, and government.
1.4 Aim and Objectives of the Study
The aim of the study is to design and implement a Cloud Based Fault Tolerance Platform for Blockchain System. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:
- To design a cloud based fault tolerant platform for the blockchain.
- To implement this platform using bitcoin on the blockchain.
- To test the efficiency of the solution against the proof-of-work mechanism using some standard metrics (power consumption, cost evaluation, memory consumption, resource utilization and CPU usage).
1.5 Significance of Study
This study will provide relevant data for the effective formulation and implementation of policies to enhance the realization of envisaged objective. This study will be of immense benefit to other researchers who intend to know more on this study and can also be used by non-researchers to build more on their research work. This study contributes to knowledge and could serve as a guide for other study.
1.6 Scope of Study
The scope of the research is focused on design and implementation of a Cloud Based Fault Tolerance Platform for Blockchain System.
1.7 Limitations of the Study
During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:
- Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
- Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
- Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
- Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet).
1.8 Definition of Terms
Blockchain Technology: Block Chain technology is a digital ledger which uses bitcoin or other crypto currency to conduct transactions which are recorded chronologically and publicly. The technology, which can be described as a diary is difficult to forge.
