IP Library Granted Patent US 10,541,886
Granted Patent B2
US 10,541,886 · App. 15/603,503 · Granted Jan 21, 2020

Decentralized change management based on peer devices using a blockchain

Inventors: Luis Angel D. Bathen (Placentia, CA); Gabor Madl (Santa Clara, CA); Ramani R. Routray (San Jose, CA); Mu Qiao (San Mateo, CA)
Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
H04L41/5019G06F16/2255H04L67/10
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 10,541,886
App. No.
15/603,503
Granted
Jan 21, 2020
Kind
B2
Abstract

A blockchain of transactions may be referenced for various purposes and may be later accessed by interested parties for ledger verification and information retrieval. One example method of operation may include one or more of monitoring a computing service via various nodes operating on a blockchain, identifying a proposed change to the computing service, storing details of the proposed change in a smart contract, storing the smart contract as a transaction in the blockchain, and validating the proposed change of the smart contract.

Claims (61)

1. A method, comprising:

monitoring a computing service via a plurality of nodes operating on a blockchain;

identifying a proposed change to the computing service;

storing details of the proposed change in a smart contract;

storing the smart contract as a transaction in the blockchain; and

validating the proposed change of the smart contract, wherein

the plurality of nodes consider a longest chain to be a correct chain and keep working on extending the longest chain, and

the blockchain stores references to an off-chain distributed hash-table storing actual data related to changes.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the computing service is one or more of a cloud service, a network service, and a data center service.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the details of the proposed change comprise all parties involved in the proposed change, conditions required to execute the proposed change, and items to be executed during the proposed change.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

executing the proposed change of the smart contract; and

storing execution results of the smart contract in a distributed hash table that is separate from the blockchain.

5. The method of claim 4 , further comprising:

broadcasting the transaction to the plurality of nodes on the blockchain; and

authorizing the proposed change via one or more of the plurality of nodes.

6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising:

creating one or more blocks with execution results of the proposed change of the smart contract; and

broadcasting the execution results to the plurality of nodes.

7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising:

accepting the one or more blocks when the transaction is deemed valid.

8. An apparatus, comprising:

a processor configured to:

monitor a computing service via a plurality of nodes operating on a blockchain;

identify a proposed change to the computing service;

store details of the proposed change in a smart contract;

store the smart contract as a transaction in the blockchain; and

validate the proposed change of the smart contract, wherein

each node of the plurality of nodes monitors respective information technology (IT) assets in an assigned sub-network that is assigned based on a sub-graph of a graph of an entire network.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the computing service is one or more of a cloud service, a network service, and a data center service.

10. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the details of the proposed change comprise all parties involved in the proposed change, conditions required to execute the proposed change, and items to be executed during the proposed change.

11. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

execute the proposed change of the smart contract; and

store execution results of the smart contract in a distributed hash table that is separate from the blockchain.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

broadcast the transaction to the plurality of nodes on the blockchain; and

authorize the proposed change via one or more of the plurality of nodes.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

create one or more blocks with execution results of the proposed change of the smart contract; and

broadcast the execution results to the plurality of nodes.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

accept the one or more blocks when the transaction is deemed valid.

15. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed, cause a processor to perform:

monitoring a computing service via a plurality of nodes operating on a blockchain;

identifying a proposed change to the computing service;

storing details of the proposed change in a smart contract;

storing the smart contract as a transaction in the blockchain; and

validating the proposed change of the smart contract, wherein

each node of the plurality of nodes monitors respective information technology (IT) assets in an assigned sub-network that is assigned based on a sub-graph of a graph of an entire network.

16. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the computing service is one or more of a cloud service, a network service, and a data center service.

17. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the details of the proposed change comprise all parties involved in the proposed change, conditions required to execute the proposed change, and items to be executed during the proposed change.

18. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the processor to perform:

executing the proposed change of the smart contract; and

storing execution results of the smart contract in a distributed hash table that is separate from the blockchain.

19. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 18 , wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the processor to perform:

broadcasting the transaction to the plurality of nodes on the blockchain; and

authorizing the proposed change via one or more of the plurality of nodes.

20. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 19 , wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the processor to perform:

creating one or more blocks with execution results of the proposed change of the smart contract;

broadcasting the execution results to the plurality of nodes; and

accepting the one or more blocks when the transaction is deemed valid.

Assignments (2)
CORRECTIVE ASSIGNMENT TO CORRECT THE ASSIGNOR MIDDLE NAME PREVIOUSLY RECORDED AT REEL: 042486 FRAME: 0460. ASSIGNOR(S) HEREBY CONFIRMS THE ASSIGNMENT. Recorded Apr 22, 2019
From: BATHEN, LUIS ANGEL D.; MADL, GABOR; ROUTRAY, RAMANI R.; QIAO, MU
To: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 050008/0570 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded May 24, 2017
From: BATHEN, LUIS ANGEL D.; MADL, GABOR; ROUTRAY, RAMANI R.; QIAO, MU
To: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 042486/0460 →
Continuity (1)
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