FoBSim: an extensible open-source simulation tool for integrated fog-blockchain systems

Abstract

A lot of hard work and years of research are still needed for developing successful Blockchain (BC) applications. Although it is not yet standardized, BC technology was proven as to be an enhancement factor for security, decentralization, and reliability, leading to be successfully implemented in cryptocurrency industries. Fog computing (FC) is one of the recently emerged paradigms that needs to be improved to serve Internet of Things (IoT) environments of the future. As hundreds of projects, ideas, and systems were proposed, one can find a great R&D potential for integrating BC and FC technologies. Examples of organizations contributing to the R&D of these two technologies, and their integration, include Linux, IBM, Google, Microsoft, and others. To validate an integrated Fog-Blockchain protocol or method implementation, before the deployment phase, a suitable and accurate simulation environment is needed. Such validation should save a great deal of costs and efforts on researchers and companies adopting this integration. Current available simulation environments facilitate Fog simulation, or BC simulation, but not both. In this paper, we introduce a Fog-Blockchain simulator, namely FoBSim, with the main goal to ease the experimentation and validation of integrated Fog-Blockchain approaches. According to our proposed workflow of simulation, we implement different Consensus Algorithms (CA), different deployment options of the BC in the FC architecture, and different functionalities of the BC in the simulation. Furthermore, technical details and algorithms on the simulated integration are provided. We validate FoBSim by describing the technologies used within FoBSim, highlighting FoBSim’s novelty compared to the state-of-the-art, discussing the event validity in FoBSim, and providing a clear walk-through validation. Finally, we simulate case studies, then present and analyze the obtained results, where deploying the BC network in the fog layer shows enhanced efficiency in terms of total run time and total storage cost.

DIdM-EIoTD: Distributed Identity Management for Edge Internet of Things (IoT) Devices

“…We used FobSim [74] to analyze the behavior of our fog-based identity management solution with DLT deployment at the fog layer and at the edge/user device layer. The simulation was run in an Intel (R) Core (™) i5-6200U CPU @ 2.30 GHz 2.40 GHz with 16.0 GB internal memory (RAM) and Windows 10 Professional operating system.…”

Block the Chain: Software Weapons of Fighting Against COVID-19

“…An earlier work developed a BC simulation tool, FoBSim. 15 It can be used to investigate the behavior of a BC system by employing different parameters and consensus algorithms; hence, it will be employed for this evaluation.…”

“…FoBSim facilitates investigating BC systems through three default consensus algorithms: proof of authority (PoA), proof of stake (PoS), and proof of work (PoW) (see Baniata and Kertesz 15 for definitions and implementation details). In a nationwide scenario, every BC miner in the fog can serve one or more end user nodes that handle requests from certain bodies (concerning vaccination certificate issuing, updates, health changes, and information requests).…”

“…The article derives three scenarios from realworld vaccination reports and uses their requirements to evaluate the scalability of various BC systems with the Fog-Blockchain simulation environment (FoBSim) tool. 15 The results can serve as recommendations for possible implementations of the proposal, which could contribute to a better and more efficient fight against COVID-19. The following sections gather and compare related works, then present a proposal for a unified, BC-based solution to fight COVID-19 and future pandemics.…”

Integrating Blockchain and Fog Computing Technologies for Efficient Privacy-preserving Systems

“…A full discussion of FoBSim constraints and their mitigation methods, including Merkle Trees, mining pools, and digital signatures, is available in [185].…”