A Blockchain-Based Data Trust To Support Researcher Networks

Abstract

In this work, a Researcher Network, which is designed for creating data trust in resource-sharing for academic communities, has been built on a “hybrid” blockchain architecture featuring the synergistic coupling of Hyperledger Fabric platform with Node.js server. Being a “hybrid” system, the Researcher Network can give full play to both Hyperledger Fabric and Node.js server with the whole network featuring characteristics such as data security, access control tailorability, and large file handling capability, etc. Regarding the access control mechanism, the present work borrows from and applies the concept of access control list to the said hybrid blockchain network, which has been proved to provide fine-grained access control over either research information or files for the resource sharing on the network. The hybrid blockchain network has been thoroughly tested taking into consideration of the metrics such as throughput, response latency, etc. In the tests, the hybrid blockchain network is deployed to multiple peer nodes (up to four) either locally or on the cloud and their performance under a wide variety of load conditions has been evaluated in detail for the said metrics. All test results indicate that the hybrid blockchain network gives predictable outcome under all test conditions with responses provided within reasonable time frame. The tests also highlight the importance of the presence of Node.js backend in the hybrid network: the Node.js server not only greatly enhances the blockchain network efficiency dealing with user requests but also adds to the flexibility in the access control process. To sum up, it has been demonstrated, in this work, that it is feasible to build hybrid blockchain network with decent performance and fine-grained access control. This work is beneficial for applying the blockchain technology to the resource-sharing in academic communities.