A blockchain-based resource sharing incentivization mechanism for multi-to-multi in compute first networking

The explosive growth of data and the rapid development of algorithms have placed increasing demands on computing power. Compute first networking (CFN) can connect cloud, edge and terminal resources and meet the ubiquitous resource demands, becoming an important technology for future computing power development. However, the application premise of CFN is the resource sharing between different entities, but selfish users are usually unwilling to share their own resources. Therefore, how to motivate more users to participate in resource sharing and jointly maintain the CFN is an important issue. In this paper, we designed an incentive mechanism that considers both security, user privacy, fair pricing, and resource allocation schemes to maximize the utilities for both parties. Firstly, we design a resource trading system based on layered blockchain to ensure system security and user privacy. Secondly, the incentive process is modeled considering both supply–demand relationships, pricing and resource allocation strategies. The model is then split into two sub-problems of supply–demand matching and resource trading. An optimization method based on reinforcement learning is proposed to solve complex multi-to-multi matching problems. The resource trading process is modeled as a more realistic multi-to-multi Stackelberg game problem, the Nash equilibrium point is obtained to maximize the utilities of both parties through the game process of supply and demand. Simulations and security analysis show that the incentive method proposed in this paper is able to ensure data security and user privacy, while achieving the goal of motivating users to participate in resource sharing with lower costs.