IP Library Granted Patent US 10,992,549
Granted Patent B2
US 10,992,549 · App. 16/699,730 · Granted Apr 27, 2021

Decentralized change management based on peer devices using a blockchain

Inventors: Luis Angel D. Bathen (Placentia, CA); Gabor Madl (San Jose, CA); Ramani R. Routray (San Jose, CA); Mu Qiao (San Jose, CA)
Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
H04L41/5019G06F16/134G06F16/1834G06F16/2255H04L67/10H04L67/104H04L67/22
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 10,992,549
App. No.
16/699,730
Granted
Apr 27, 2021
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 (49)

1. A method, comprising:

storing details of a proposed change to a computing service and identifiers of assets on a network that will be affected by the proposed change to the computing service in a smart contract; and

storing the smart contract as a transaction in a blockchain;

wherein the blockchain stores references to an off-chain distributed hash-table storing 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 a 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 1 , wherein the storing the identifiers further comprises storing an identifier of the network that includes the computing service and the assets.

8. An apparatus, comprising:

a processor configured to:

store details of a proposed change to a computing service and identifiers of assets on a network that will be affected by the proposed change to the computing service in a smart contract; and

store the smart contract as a transaction in a blockchain;

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

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 a 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 8 , wherein the processor is further configured to: accept the one or more blocks when the transaction is deemed valid store an identifier of the network that includes the computing service and the assets.

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

storing details of a proposed change to a computing service and identifiers of assets on a network that will be affected by the proposed change to the computing service in a smart contract; and

storing the smart contract as a transaction in a blockchain;

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

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 a 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 (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Dec 1, 2019
From: BATHEN, LUIS ANGEL D.; MADL, GABOR; ROUTRAY, RAMANI R.; QIAO, MU
To: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 051146/0555 →
Continuity (2)
Continuation 15603503 · May 24, 2017
Related Publication 20200120001A1 · Apr 16, 2020
Cited By (1)
US 12,445,533