ELS: Efficiency-Aware Dynamic Storage for Scalable Distributed Ledger

Abstract

Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) has emerged as a promising solution for constructing decentralized and trustworthy platforms in recent years. Although blockchain, as a form of distributed ledger technology known for its tamper resistance and trustworthiness, seems to be an ideal solution for addressing trust issues, common blockchain systems face limitations due to the ever-growing volume of data. In this paper, we propose a dynamic storage scheme called Efficiency-aware Low-storage Scalability (ELS), which allocates variable data storage for the distributed ledgers. Our approach is designed to provide load balancing and security, allowing dynamic nodes to join or exit the network seamlessly. We utilize graph theory to group storage nodes in the blockchain by determining their network distances. These groups are then mapped into points in a two-dimensional virtual plane, meaning that block storage depends on the coordinates within the virtual plane. To balance storage performance with the evolving block allocation strategy, we develop a Voronoi diagram-based method to achieve near real-time adoptions that meet dynamic allocation requirements in blockchain systems. Experimental evaluations have demonstrated that our approach can reduce storage requirements by approximately 93% at each node, compared to full replication in 10000 block chains.