Fast propagation of recent transactions over a blockchain network
A specialized network (“merchant”) node to facilitate fast distribution of blockchain transactions over a network of interconnected nodes, as subset of which are merchant nodes interconnected by an overlay network. The merchant node includes a memory storing an assigned portion of a distributed mempool structured as a distributed hash table, the distributed mempool containing pending transactions awaiting confirmation. The merchant node operates by receiving a transaction, including a transaction identifier; hashing the new transaction identifier to obtain a key; determining, using the key, whether the transaction is stored in the distributed mempool or not and, if not, then storing the transaction in the distributed mempool as a pending transaction; and sending the transaction to a set of nodes other than merchant nodes using peer-to-peer connections. The invention may be used in conjunction with the Bitcoin blockchain or an alternative.
1. A specialized network node comprising:
a processor;
memory storing an assigned portion of a distributed mempool structured as a distributed hash table, the distributed mempool containing pending transactions awaiting confirmation;
a network interface; and
a blockchain specialized network node application containing processor-executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to implement the steps of:
joining, by the specialized network node, a network of nodes in which the distributed mempool is implemented as a distributed hash table (DHT) by:
requesting to join the network by sending a request to an existing node in the network of nodes; and
in response to validation actions performed by the existing node and the DHT, receiving from the DHT a routing table, key value, and any other data required to function as a new node in the network of nodes.
2. The specialized network node of claim 1 , wherein requesting to join the network comprises sending a join DHT (m-node address) request to the existing node.
3. The specialized network node of claim 1 , wherein joining the network of nodes comprising joining a decentralized IP multicast type of network.
4. The specialized network node of claim 1 , further comprising the existing node querying a minimum set of criteria associated with joining the network of nodes.
5. The specialized network node of claim 4 , wherein querying the criteria includes querying minimum processing resources available, minimum free memory available, or connectivity requirements of the specialized network node.
6. The specialized network node of claim 1 , further comprising the existing node forwarding a joinrequest( ) to the DHT in accordance with a DHT protocol that governs operation of the DHT.
7. The specialized network node of claim 1 , further comprising adding the specialized network node to a reputation table indicated by a node ID field.
8. A computer-implemented method to facilitate blockchain transfers involving a plurality of nodes coupled to a network used to implement a blockchain, wherein a subset of the plurality of nodes are specialized network nodes, wherein the method comprises:
joining, by a specialized network node of the plurality of nodes, a network of nodes in which a distributed mempool is implemented as a distributed hash table (DHT) by:
requesting to join the network by sending a request to an existing node in the network of nodes; and
in response to validation actions performed by the existing node and the DHT, receiving from the DHT a routing table, key value, and any other data required to function as a new node in the network of nodes.
9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8 , wherein requesting to join the network comprises sending a joinDHT (m-node address) request to the existing node.
10. The computer-implemented method of claim 8 , wherein joining the network of nodes comprising joining a decentralized IP multicast type of network.
11. The computer-implemented method of claim 8 , further comprising the existing node querying a minimum set of criteria associated with joining the network of nodes.
12. Computer-implemented method of claim 11 , wherein querying the criteria includes querying minimum processing resources available, minimum free memory available, or connectivity requirements of the specialized network node.
13. The computer-implemented method of claim 8 , further comprising the existing node forwarding a joinrequest( ) to the DHT in accordance with a DHT protocol that governs operation of the DHT.
14. The computer-implemented method of claim 8 , further comprising adding the specialized network node to a reputation table indicated by a node ID field.
15. A non-transitory processor-readable medium storing processor-executable instructions to participate in a blockchain transaction among a plurality of participating nodes, wherein the processor-executable instructions, when executed by a processor in one of the participating nodes, cause the processor to carry out a method comprising:
joining, by a specialized network node of the plurality of participating network nodes, a network of nodes in which a distributed mempool is implemented as a distributed hash table (DHT) by:
requesting to join the network by sending a request to an existing node in the network of nodes; and
in response to validation actions performed by the existing node and the DHT, receiving from the DHT a routing table, key value, and any other data required to function as a new node in the network of nodes.
16. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein requesting to join the network comprises sending a joinDHT (m-node address) request to the existing node.
17. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein joining the network of nodes comprising joining a decentralized IP multicast type of network.
18. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 15 , further comprising the existing node querying a minimum set of criteria associated with joining the network of nodes.
19. Non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 18 , wherein querying the criteria includes querying minimum processing resources available, minimum free memory available, or connectivity requirements of the specialized network node.
20. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 15 , further comprising the existing node forwarding a joinrequest( ) to the DHT in accordance with a DHT protocol that governs operation of the DHT.