Dfinity Stiftung

Dominic Williams

Jan Leonard Camenisch

Timo Hanke

Manu Drijvers

Gregory Neven

Johan Granström

Mahnush Movahedi

David Derler

Yvonne-Anne Pignolet

Andreas Rossberg

Robert Lauko

David Mccauley

Maciej Wos

Allen Clement

Mariu Drijvers

Andrea Cerulli

Timo Tobias Hanke

Roman Kashitsyn

An aspect of the invention relates to a distributed network comprising a plurality of network nodes. The distributed network is configured to perform a method for reaching a consensus on a sequence of values in an advantageous manner. The method performs consecutive notarization rounds. The notarization rounds comprise steps of creating value proposals to be added to the sequence, communicating the value proposals to a notarization subset of the plurality of nodes and performing a validity check of received value proposals. The notarization rounds may comprise further steps of executing individual notarization signatures on a subset of the value proposals that are valid. The notarization rounds may further comprise performing a consistency check of the value proposals and executing consistency signatures on a subset of the value proposals. The method may further comprise a finality procedure to finalize a value proposal once a predefined finality rule set has been fulfilled.

Distributed network with consensus mechanism

Embodiments of the invention relate to a computer-implemented method for generating verification keys of a public-key signature scheme in a distributed network. The method comprises performing, by a subset of the nodes of a first subnetwork of nodes, a first distributed key generation protocol, the first distributed key generation protocol being configured to generate jointly a verification key for the first subnetwork and a plurality of corresponding secret key shares for the nodes of the first subnetwork. The method further comprises a step of performing, for a second subnetwork, by a subset of the plurality of nodes of the first subnetwork, a second distributed key generation protocol, the second distributed key generation protocol being configured to generate jointly a verification key of the second subnetwork and a plurality of corresponding secret key shares for the nodes of the second subnetwork. A further step comprises signing, by a subset of the nodes of the first subnetwork, the verification key of the second subnetwork with a permissible subset of the secret key shares of the nodes of the first subnetwork, thereby generating a joint signature on the verification key of the second subnetwork. Further aspects relate to a distributed network, a node of a distributed network and corresponding computer program products.

Verification key generation in distributed networks

According to an embodiment of a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a distributed network comprising a plurality of subnets. Each of the plurality of subnets comprises a plurality of nodes. The network is configured to run a set of computational units and to assign each of the computational units to one of the plurality of subnets according to a subnet-assignment, thereby creating an assigned subset of the set of computational units for each of the subnets. The network is further configured to run on each node of the plurality of subnets the assigned subset of the computational units and to replicate the assigned subsets of the computational units across the respective subnets. The network is further configured to exchange unit-to-unit messages between the computational units via a messaging protocol based on the subnet-assignment. Further aspects of the invention relate to a corresponding computer-implemented method, a node, a computer program product and a software architecture.

Messaging in distributed networks

According to an embodiment of a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a computer-implemented method for operating a distributed network. The distributed network comprises a plurality of nodes. The network comprises one or more subnets. The method comprises steps of running a set of computational units and assigning each of the computational units to one of the plurality of subnets according to a subnet-assignment, thereby creating an assigned subset of the set of computational units for each of the subnets. The method further comprises running on each node of the plurality of subnets the assigned subset of the computational units, wherein the computational units are configured to execute computations in a deterministic manner, thereby replicating the assigned subsets of the computational units on replicas across the respective subnet. The method further comprises running a consensus component, the consensus component being configured to reach a consensus on input blocks to be processed by the replicas of a respective subnet. The method further comprises measuring, by each of the replicas of a subnet, replica-local data, reporting, by each of the replicas of a subnet, the replica-local data to the consensus component and utilizing the replica-local data for an analysis, in particular a statistical analysis, of the computations executed across the respective subnet. Further aspects of the invention relate to a corresponding distributed network, a node, a computer program product and a software architecture.

Operation of a distributed deterministic network

According to an embodiment of a first aspect of the invention, there is a distributed network comprising a plurality of network nodes. Each of the plurality of network nodes is linked to a first node identity of a plurality of first node identities. Each of the plurality of first node identities comprises a first verification key of a public-key signature scheme. The distributed network is configured to perform a key shuffling step adapted to perform an unlinkable one-to-one mapping between the plurality of first node identities and a plurality of second node identities. Each of the plurality of second node identities comprises a second verification key of a public-key signature scheme. The distributed network is configured to perform a consensus protocol with a subset of the plurality of second node identities. Further aspects of the invention relate to a corresponding computer-implemented method, a network node and a computer program product.

Distributed network with blinded identities

According to an embodiment of a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a distributed network comprising a plurality of nodes. Each of the plurality of nodes is configured to run one or more computational units comprising its own unit state. The network is configured to individually execute, by an execution subset of the plurality of nodes, s set of execution messages in a deterministic manner, thereby mutating the unit states of one or more of the computational units of the execution subset. The network is further configured to regularly make, by the nodes of the execution subset, a read snapshot of the unit states of the one or more computational units of the execution subset and to provide, by one or more nodes of the execution subset, user access to the read snapshot. Further aspects of the invention relate to a corresponding computer-implemented method, a node, a computer program product and a software architecture.

Read access for computational results of a distributed network

A software architecture encoded on a non-transitory computer readable medium, where the software architecture includes a creation protocol, wherein the creation protocol is configured to create a plurality of dealing messages. The software architecture additionally includes a reading protocol, wherein the reading protocol is configured to read the dealing message to a receiver node of the selected group, wherein the receiver node is different from a dealer node whose information is contained in the corresponding dealing message. Moreover, the software architecture includes a verification protocol, wherein the verification protocol is configured to verify veracity of the corresponding dealing message, wherein the verification protocol is configured to be run by the receiver node. Further, the software architecture includes a complaint protocol, wherein the complaint protocol is configured to generate a complaint message, wherein the complaint message is signed by the receiver node.

System architecture for executing a distributed key generation protocol

A software architecture encoded on a non-transitory computer readable medium, where the software architecture includes a first protocol, wherein the first protocol is configured to form a plurality of groups, wherein each group of the plurality of groups comprises a set of randomly selected nodes from a network. The software architecture further includes a second protocol, wherein the second protocol is configured to randomly select a first group from the plurality of groups formed by the first protocol. Additionally, the software architecture includes a third protocol, wherein the third protocol is configured to designate the first group to sign a first message by generating a first group signature. Furthermore, the software architecture includes a hash function, wherein the hash function is configured to generate a hash value from the first group signature.

Growing community of inventors

Palo Alto, CA, United States of America

Dominic Williams