Latency Modeling of Hyperledger Fabric for Blockchain-based IoT (BC-IoT) Networks

With the worldwide growth of IoT industry, the need for a strong security level for IoT networks has also increased, leading to blockchain-based IoT (BC-IoT) networks. While blockchain technology is leveraged to ensure data integrity in a distributed manner, Hyperledger Fabric (HLF) attracts attention with its distinctive strong point without requiring the power-consuming consensus protocol, that is, proof-of-work (PoW). However, even though such security concerns can be mitigated using HLF, the additional processing time spent in HLF may emerge as another issue because most IoT devices handle real-time and latency critical jobs. This problem still remains unresolved because of the absence of a HLF latency model and a parameter setup guideline to reducing the mean latency. In this paper, therefore, we develop a HLF latency model for HLF-based IoT networks based on probability distribution fitting, by which mean latency prediction is facilitated once probable configuration environments are determined, in terms of the block size, block-generation timeout, and transaction generation rate parameters. Furthermore, we conclude by analyzing the impacts of influential HLF parameters on the mean latency, in order to provide insights not only on optimizing the mean latency, but also on coping with long mean latency.