Integrating BFT framework into Hyperledger Fabric

Introduction

Byzantine Fault Tolerant consensus protocols gained a renewed interest due to their efficiency for permissioned blockchains.

This topic aims to integrate the rust BFT consensus protocol into the last version of Hyperledger Fabric (v2.3) as an ordering service. Hyperledger Fabric is one of the prominent blockchain projects. It is open-sourced and characterized by its modularity [0]. The modularity enables designers to plug in their preferred implementation for components such as the consensus protocol.

In this thesis, the BFT consensus protocol to be integrated is an SGX-based implementation. The topic requires implementing the interface in the consensus package provided by Hyperledger (i.e., a transition between rust and go)[1].

A similar approach is the integration of BFT-smart by Bessani et al.[2].

Tasks

• Make a literature analysis starting from the work of Bessani et al. and Hyperledger documentation
• Getting familiar with Hyperledger Fabric and the rust PBFT project
• Implement the required interface for integrating the PBFT framework into Hyperledger Fabric
• Evaluate the prototype in terms of throughput and latency

Prerequisite

• Willingness to learn rust and go languages basics
• Willingness to learn about blockchain and Hyperledger Fabric

Links

• [0] Hyperledger Fabric docs
• [1] Consensus package
• [2] A Byzantine Fault-Tolerant Ordering Service for the Hyperledger Fabric Blockchain Platform

If you need further information, feel free to email Ines Messadi. Please indicate your course of study, semester and programming skills.