An In-depth Security and Performance Investigation in Hyperledger Fabric-configured Distributed Computing Systems

Abstract

Since its inception as one of the Bitcoin’s underpinning technologies, the concept of Blockchain has traversed a long way from being merely a secure distributed ledger meant only for storing cryptocurrencies-based financial transactions to implementing innovative and revolutionary distributed systems for multifarious purposes. One of the contemporary and out-of-the-box Blockchain-based projects, namely Hyperledger, promises to make preeminent use of this technology by promoting cross-industry collaboration in developing Blockchain-based solutions, thus, opening a new chapter in distributed computing. However, attributing to its underlying design, leveraging Hyperledger-Fabric (HF) features still lacks an analysis from the perspective of security risks and efficiency concerns pertaining to real-time distributed computing-based systems and applications. In this regard, we investigate the HF architecture, along with various research endeavours undergone by researchers in recent years to combat its security and performance-related challenges. In light of the identified limitations and bottlenecks, we present our conceptual proposal and feasible insights for improving the efficacy of HF-based systems while not compromising their security.