Blockchain data processing for cloud computing

Blockchain data processing for cloud computing

Term definition Blockchain integration station is a blockchain node device with integrated hardware and software, providing high-performance, high-security and easy-to-deploy blockchain services. Cloud server is a server that provides cloud computing services and can be used as an off-chain node, cross-chain proxy service node or certificate authority node of the blockchain. Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) CPU hardware security extension, providing a trusted execution environment that is completely isolated from the outside world, such as Intel SGX, ARM Trustzone, etc. On-chain contract is a smart contract deployed on a blockchain node. Off-chain contract is a contract deployed on an off-chain node (such as a cloud server). Oracle mechanism is a mechanism for blockchain to interact with external systems, consisting of an oracle contract and an oracle server. Remote authentication report is a report generated by the authentication server after verifying the TEE self-description information generated by the cloud server, used to prove the credibility of the TEE. Self-description information is information generated by the TEE, used to prove the identity and integrity of the TEE, such as the QUOTE structure in Intel SGX. Digital certificate is an electronic document issued by a certificate authority (CA) to prove the identity of the digital certificate holder.

Short answer question

What are the advantages of blockchain integration stations over traditional blockchain nodes?

Answer: The blockchain integration station provides an integrated hardware and software solution with advantages such as high performance, high security, and easy deployment. It integrates hardware optimization, such as dedicated smart contract processing chips and smart network cards, and software optimization, such as built-in certificate issuance services and standardized cloud service interfaces, which simplifies the construction and maintenance of blockchain networks.

What roles can cloud servers play in cloud computing-based blockchain data processing solutions?

Answer: Cloud servers can serve as off-chain nodes of blockchains to share computing tasks and improve transaction execution efficiency; they can serve as cross-chain proxy service nodes to connect different blockchain networks and achieve cross-chain data access; they can also serve as certificate authority nodes to issue digital certificates for blockchain integration stations to ensure network security.

Please explain the role of the oracle mechanism in the interaction between blockchain and cloud servers.

Answer: The oracle mechanism is a bridge for blockchain to interact with external systems for data. The blockchain integration station sends data requests to the oracle server by calling the oracle contract, and the oracle server forwards the request to the cloud server and returns the processing results of the cloud server to the blockchain.

Briefly describe how TEE ensures the security of data processing on cloud servers.

Answer: TEE is a trusted execution environment isolated from the outside world. No software can access its internal data. Even operating system administrators or virtual machine monitors cannot affect the code and data in TEE. Cloud servers perform blockchain-related operations in TEE to ensure data security.

How does Intel SGX technology achieve remote authentication of TEE?

Answer: Intel SGX uses Quoting Enclave (QE) to generate a QUOTE structure containing TEE information and signs it with an EPID key. The cloud server sends the QUOTE to the Intel Attestation Service (IAS) server. The IAS server verifies the signature and returns a remote authentication report to prove the credibility of the TEE.

How does the blockchain integration station verify the credibility of the off-chain contract?

Answer: The blockchain integration station first verifies the remote authentication report of the cloud server TEE to confirm that the TEE is credible. Then, verify the signature of the off-chain contract information to confirm that the contract is executed by the cloud server in the TEE. Finally, compare the off-chain contract information with the pre-obtained contract information to ensure that the contract content is correct.

How to issue a digital certificate for a blockchain integration station when the cloud server is used as a CA authority node?

Answer: The cloud server first creates its own root certificate and broadcasts it to the blockchain network. The blockchain integration station sends an authentication application containing identity information to the cloud server. After the cloud server verifies the information, it uses its own private key to sign the identity information of the integration station, generates a digital certificate and returns it to the integration station.

How does the blockchain node verify the digital certificate of the blockchain integration station?

Answer: The blockchain node uses the public key contained in the root certificate of the cloud server to sign and verify the digital certificate of the integration station, and confirms that the certificate is issued by the cloud server CA service. Then, the integration station description information contained in the certificate is compared with the recorded integration station information allowed to join the network to confirm the identity of the integration station.

Briefly describe the advantages of cloud computing-based blockchain data processing solutions compared to traditional blockchain networks.

Answer: The cloud computing-based solution effectively reduces the computing resource consumption of the blockchain network and improves the transaction processing efficiency by transferring computing tasks to cloud servers. At the same time, the addition of cloud servers also provides blockchain networks with more flexible deployment methods and more powerful functional support.

In practical applications, what challenges does the cloud computing-based blockchain data processing solution still face?

A: This solution needs to address the security and reliability issues of cloud servers, such as the security of TEE, the reliability of the oracle mechanism, etc. In addition, corresponding standards and specifications need to be formulated to ensure interoperability and data security between different cloud service providers.