Fork-tolerant consensus protocol
A consensus network includes Messagenodes and Validators. The Messagenodes add transactions to pre-built blocks of a blockchain. The Validators validate the transactions added to the blocks by the Messagenodes. Validators individually sign blocks in a pre-commit phase and if a block receives a threshold number of signatures, the Validators verify the signatures in a counting phase and commit the block to the blockchain. When a block is committed, it is linked to the previous sealed block in the blockchain.
1. A computer-implemented method of processing transaction messages in a consensus network, the method comprising:
receiving, at a Messagenode of the consensus network, a plurality of transaction batches;
broadcasting, by the Messagenode, a message identifying the received transaction batches and a target block in a distributed ledger;
receiving, at the Messagenode, a number of acknowledgments of the message by other Messagenodes of the consensus network;
transmitting, by the Messagenode and responsive to the number of acknowledgments exceeding an acknowledgment threshold, an accept request;
receiving, at the Messagenode, a number of accepted messages from other Messagenodes of the consensus network; and
selecting, responsive to the number of accepted messages exceeding an acceptance threshold, the plurality of transaction batches to be written to the target block.
2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of transaction batches each include a single transaction message.
3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein a transaction batch of the plurality of transaction batches includes a plurality of transaction messages received by a validation node in time period of predetermined length.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the broadcasted message includes a vector comprising an identifier of each transaction batch.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the acknowledgment threshold is two-thirds of a total number of Messagenodes in the consensus network.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the accept request includes an identifier of each of the other Messagenodes that acknowledged the message.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the acceptance threshold is defined as 2f+1, where f is a maximum allowable number of faulty Messagenodes.
8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
removing duplicate transaction batches of the plurality of transaction batches to obtain one or more deduplicated transaction batches; and
writing the deduplicated transaction batches to the target block.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the target block is an empty block built at a time before receiving of the plurality of transaction batches.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the distributed ledger comprises a blockchain and the target block is a block of the blockchain.
11. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a Messagenode of a consensus network, cause the Messagenode to:
receive a plurality of transaction batches;
broadcast a message identifying the received transaction batches and a target block in a distributed ledger;
receive a number of acknowledgments of the message by other Messagenodes of the consensus network;
transmit, responsive to the number of acknowledgments exceeding an acknowledgment threshold, an accept request;
receive a number of accepted messages from other Messagenodes of the consensus network; and
select, responsive to the number of accepted messages exceeding an acceptance threshold, the plurality of transaction batches to be written to the target block.
12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11 , wherein the plurality of transaction batches each include a single transaction message.
13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11 , wherein a transaction batch of the plurality of transaction batches includes a plurality of transaction messages received by a validation node in time period of predetermined length.
14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11 , wherein the broadcasted message includes a vector comprising an identifier of each transaction batch.
15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11 , wherein the acknowledgment threshold is two-thirds of a total number of Messagenodes in the consensus network.
16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11 , wherein the accept request includes an identifier of each of the other Messagenodes that acknowledged the message.
17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11 , wherein the acceptance threshold is defined as 2f+1, where f is a maximum allowable number of faulty Messagenodes.
18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11 , wherein the instructions further cause the Messagenode to:
remove duplicate transaction batches of the plurality of transaction batches to obtain one or more deduplicated transaction batches; and
writing the deduplicated transaction batches to the target block.
19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11 , wherein the distributed ledger comprises a blockchain and the target block is an empty block of the blockchain built at a time before receiving of the plurality of transaction batches.
20. A Messagenode in a consensus network, the Messagenode comprising:
a processor; and
a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the Messagenode to:
receive a plurality of transaction batches;
broadcast a message identifying the received transaction batches and a target block in a distributed ledger;
receive a number of acknowledgments of the message by other Messagenodes of the consensus network;
transmit, responsive to the number of acknowledgments exceeding an acknowledgment threshold, an accept request;
receive a number of accepted messages from other Messagenodes of the consensus network; and
select, responsive to the number of accepted messages exceeding an acceptance threshold, the plurality of transaction batches to be written to the target block.