Adaptive online blockchain sharding algorithm based on trusted execution environments

doi:10.11772/j.issn.1001-9081.2024121839

Journal of Computer Applications ›› 2025, Vol. 45 ›› Issue (11): 3424-3431.DOI: 10.11772/j.issn.1001-9081.2024121839

• The 7th CCF China Conference on Blockchain Technology • Previous Articles

Adaptive online blockchain sharding algorithm based on trusted execution environments

Fei WANG, Hengdi WANG, Konglin ZHU(), Lin ZHANG

School of Artificial Intelligence，Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications，Beijing 100876，China

Received:2024-12-30 Revised:2025-02-06 Accepted:2025-02-25 Online:2025-03-13 Published:2025-11-10
Contact: Konglin ZHU
About author:WANG Fei， born in 1996， Ph. D. candidate. His research interests include distributed edge networks， online optimization， sustainable AI.
WANG Hengdi， born in 2002， Ph. D. candidate. His research interests include blockchain， green electricity trading.
ZHANG Lin， born in 1974， Ph. D.， professor. His research interests include internet of vehicles and mobile internet， ultra-wideband bio-radar imaging， life signal detection.
Supported by:
National Key Research and Development Program of China(2023YFB2704500);Project of Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Future Blockchain and Privacy Computing

基于可信执行环境的自适应在线区块链分片算法

王飞, 王恒笛, 朱孔林(), 张琳

北京邮电大学人工智能学院，北京 100876

通讯作者: 朱孔林
作者简介:王飞（1996—），男，山东日照人，博士研究生，主要研究方向：分布式边缘网络、在线优化、可持续AI
王恒笛（2002—），男，山东临沂人，博士研究生，主要研究方向：区块链、绿电交易
张琳（1974—），男，山东济南人，教授，博士生导师，博士，主要研究方向：车联网与移动互联网、超宽带生物雷达成像、生命信号检测。
基金资助:
国家重点研发计划项目(2023YFB2704500);北京未来区块链与隐私计算高精尖创新中心资助项目

Abstract

Abstract:

Aiming at the performance bottleneck caused by multi-round inter-shard communication in cross-shard transaction protocols， an adaptive online blockchain sharding algorithm based on Trusted Execution Environments （TEE） was proposed. The algorithm optimizes the execution process of cross-shard transactions， reducing communication overhead and improving system throughput. Firstly， an adaptive online sharding algorithm was designed， which delayed the allocation time of transactions to shards， allowing related transactions to be clustered together， thereby reducing the number of cross-shard transactions and minimizing communication overhead. Secondly， by combining TEE technology， off-chain cross-shard transactions were securely and efficiently executed， eliminating the need for multi-round inter-shard communication in traditional schemes. Finally， a one-sided feedback optimization algorithm was introduced to dynamically adapt to changes in transaction patterns based on current system status and transaction demands， optimizing the sharding strategy in real time. Experimental results showed that compared with the random sharding algorithm， the proposed algorithm increased throughput by 35%. By reducing unnecessary communication and computational overhead， the proposed algorithm significantly improves overall system performance， while ensuring the security of cross-shard transactions. It is suitable for blockchain systems requiring high throughput and low latency， and has considerable application value.

Key words: blockchain, sharding, Trusted Execution Environment (TEE), online optimization, cross-shard transaction

摘要：

针对跨分片交易协议中多轮分片到分片通信所带来的性能瓶颈问题，提出一种基于可信执行环境（TEE）的自适应在线区块链分片算法。该算法优化了跨分片交易的执行流程，可降低通信开销并提升系统吞吐量。首先，设计了自适应在线分片算法，通过延迟一定的时间，再将交易分配至分片，使相关交易聚合在一起，从而减少跨片交易并降低通信开销；其次，结合TEE技术，安全高效地执行链下的跨片交易，从而避免传统方案中多轮分片间通信的需求；最后，引入一种单侧反馈优化算法，依据当前的系统状态和交易需求，动态地适应交易模式的变化，实时优化分片策略。实验结果表明，与随机分片算法相比，所提算法在吞吐量上提升了35%。该算法通过减少不必要的通信和计算开销，在保证跨分片交易安全性的同时，显著提升了系统的整体性能，适用于高吞吐量和低延迟的区块链系统，具有较高的应用价值。

关键词: 区块链, 分片, 可信执行环境, 在线优化, 跨片交易

CLC Number:

TN918.1

Fei WANG, Hengdi WANG, Konglin ZHU, Lin ZHANG. Adaptive online blockchain sharding algorithm based on trusted execution environments[J]. Journal of Computer Applications, 2025, 45(11): 3424-3431.

王飞, 王恒笛, 朱孔林, 张琳. 基于可信执行环境的自适应在线区块链分片算法[J]. 《计算机应用》唯一官方网站, 2025, 45(11): 3424-3431.

Figures/Tables 7

Fig. 1 Sharding model based on trusted execution environments

Fig. 2 Flow of sharding based on TEE

Fig. 3 Comparison of cumulative utility in consecutive epochs

Fig. 4 Dynamic regret performance in consecutive epochs

Fig. 5 Relationship between cross-shard transactions ratio and latency waiting time

Fig. 6 Comparison of average cross-shard transactions ratio per epoch

Fig. 7 Comparison of transaction throughput per epoch

References 25

[1]	NAKAMOTO S. Bitcoin： a peer-to-peer electronic cash system［EB/OL］［2024-07-04］..
[2]	REBELLO G A F， CAMILO G F， DE SOUZA L A C， et al. A survey on blockchain scalability： from hardware to layer-two protocols［J］. IEEE Communications Surveys and Tutorials， 2024， 26（4）： 2411-2458.
[3]	WANG J， WANG H. Monoxide： scale out blockchains with asynchronous consensus zones［C］// Proceedings of the 16th USENIX Symposium on Networked Systems Design and Implementation. Berkeley： USENIX Association， 2019： 95-112.
[4]	HUANG H， PENG X， ZHAN J， et al. BrokerChain： a cross-shard blockchain protocol for account/balance-based state sharding［C］// Proceedings of the 2022 IEEE Conference on Computer Communications. Piscataway： IEEE， 2022： 1968-1977.
[5]	XU J， MING Y， WU Z， et al. X-Shard： optimistic cross-shard transaction processing for sharding-based blockchains［J］. IEEE Transactions on Parallel and Distributed Systems， 2024， 35（4）： 548-559.
[6]	HONG Z， GUO S， ZHOU E， et al. GriDB： scaling blockchain database via sharding and off-chain cross-shard mechanism［J］. Proceedings of the VLDB Endowment， 2023， 16（7）： 1685-1698.
[7]	HONG Z， GUO S， LI P， et al. Pyramid： a layered sharding blockchain system［C］// Proceedings of the 2021 IEEE Conference on Computer Communications. Piscataway： IEEE， 2021： 1-10.
[8]	QIU X， LIU L， CHEN W， et al. Online deep reinforcement learning for computation offloading in blockchain-empowered mobile edge computing［J］. IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology， 2019， 68（8）： 8050-8062.
[9]	ZAMANI M， MOVAHEDI M， RAYKOVA M. RapidChain： scaling blockchain via full sharding［C］// Proceedings of the 2018 ACM SIGSAC Conference on Computer and Communications Security. New York： ACM， 2018： 931-948.
[10]	MA S， WANG S， W-T TSAI. Delay analysis of consensus communication for blockchain-based applications using network calculus［J］. IEEE Wireless Communications Letters， 2022， 11（9）： 1825-1829.
[11]	LI Z， XIAO B， GUO S， et al. Securing deployed smart contracts and DeFi with distributed TEE cluster［J］. IEEE Transactions on Parallel and Distributed Systems， 2023， 34（3）： 828-842.
[12]	CASTRO M， LISKOV B. Practical byzantine fault tolerance［C］// Proceedings of the 3rd USENIX Symposium on Operating Systems Design and Implementation. Berkeley： USENIX Association， 1999： 173-186.
[13]	QI X， LI Y. LightCross： sharding with lightweight cross-shard execution for smart contracts［C］// Proceedings of the 2024 IEEE Conference on Computer Communications. Piscataway： IEEE， 2024： 1681-1690.
[14]	HONG Z， GUO S， LI P. Scaling blockchain via layered sharding［J］. IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications， 2022， 40（12）： 3575-3588.
[15]	LIU Y， XING X， CHEN H， et al. A flexible sharding blockchain protocol based on cross-shard byzantine fault tolerance［J］. IEEE Transactions on Information Forensics and Security， 2023， 18： 2276-2291.
[16]	ZHANG J， CHEN W， HONG Z， et al. Efficient execution of arbitrarily complex cross-shard contracts for blockchain sharding［J］. IEEE Transactions on Computers， 2024， 73（5）： 1190-1205.
[17]	CAI Z， LI Y， LIU M， et al. Benzene： scaling blockchain with cooperation-based sharding［J］. IEEE Transactions on Parallel and Distributed Systems， 2022， 34（2）： 639-654.
[18]	DAS P， ECKEY L， FRASSETTO T， et al. FastKitten： practical smart contracts on Bitcoin［C］// Proceedings of the 28th USENIX Security Symposium. Berkeley： USENIX Association， 2019： 801-818.
[19]	CHENG R， ZHANG F， KOS J， et al. Ekiden： a platform for confidentiality-preserving， trustworthy， and performant smart contracts［C］// Proceedings of the 2019 IEEE European Symposium on Security and Privacy. Piscataway： IEEE， 2019： 185-200.
[20]	WÜST K， MATETIC S， EGLI S， et al. ACE： asynchronous and concurrent execution of complex smart contracts［C］// Proceedings of the 2020 ACM SIGSAC Conference on Computer and Communications Security. New York： ACM， 2020： 587-600.
[21]	DOLEV D. Unanimity in an unknown and unreliable environment［C］// Proceedings of the 22nd Annual Symposium on Foundations of Computer Science. Piscataway： IEEE， 1981： 159-168.
[22]	SHA M， LI J， WANG S， et al. TEE-based general-purpose computational backend for secure delegated data processing［J］. Proceedings of the ACM on Management of Data， 2023， 1（4）： No.263.
[23]	KARYPIS G， KUMAR V. A fast and high quality multilevel scheme for partitioning irregular graphs［J］. SIAM Journal on Scientific Computing， 1998， 20（1）： 359-392.
[24]	KIM B， TEWARI A. On the optimality of perturbations in stochastic and adversarial multi-armed bandit problems［C］// Proceedings of the 33rd International Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems. Red Hook： Curran Associates Inc.， 2019： 2695-2704.
[25]	蒋伟进，陈萍萍，张婉清，等.基于组合多臂赌博机的移动群智感知用户招募算法［J］.电子与信息学报，2022，44（3）：1119-1128.
	JIANG W J， CHEN P P， ZHANG W Q， et al. Mobile crowdsensing user recruitment algorithm based on combination multi-armed bandit［J］. Journal of Electronics and Information Technology， 2022， 44（3）： 1119-1128.

Adaptive online blockchain sharding algorithm based on trusted execution environments

基于可信执行环境的自适应在线区块链分片算法

RichHTML

PDF

Knowledge

Abstract

Cite this article

share this article

Figures/Tables 7

References 25

Related Articles 15

Recommended Articles

Metrics

[1]	Sheping ZHAI, Pengju ZHU, Rui YANG, Jiayiteng LIU. Blockchain-based identity management system for internet of things [J]. Journal of Computer Applications, 2025, 45(9): 2873-2881.
[2]	Wei GAO, Lihua LIU, Bintao HE, Fang’an DENG. Research advances in blockchain consensus mechanisms and improvement algorithms [J]. Journal of Computer Applications, 2025, 45(9): 2848-2864.
[3]	Wei SHE, Tianxiang MA, Haige FENG, Zhao TIAN, Wei LIU. Blockchain covert communication method based on contract call concealment [J]. Journal of Computer Applications, 2025, 45(9): 2865-2872.
[4]	Di WANG. P-Dledger： blockchain edge node security architecture [J]. Journal of Computer Applications, 2025, 45(8): 2630-2636.
[5]	Haiyang PENG, Weixing JI, Fawang LIU. Blockchain-based data notarization model for autonomous driving simulation testing [J]. Journal of Computer Applications, 2025, 45(8): 2421-2427.
[6]	Shuo ZHANG, Guokai SUN, Yuan ZHUANG, Xiaoyu FENG, Jingzhi WANG. Dynamic detection method of eclipse attacks for blockchain node analysis [J]. Journal of Computer Applications, 2025, 45(8): 2428-2436.
[7]	Yuxuan CHEN, Haibin ZHENG, Zhenyu GUAN, Boheng SU, Yujue WANG, Zhenwei GUO. Blockchain sharding mechanism in asynchronous network based on HoneyBadgerBFT and DAG [J]. Journal of Computer Applications, 2025, 45(7): 2092-2100.
[8]	Li’e WANG, Caiyi LIN, Yongdong LI, Xingcheng FU, Xianxian LI. Digital content copyright protection and fair tracking scheme based on blockchain [J]. Journal of Computer Applications, 2025, 45(6): 1756-1765.
[9]	Xin SHAO, Zigang CHEN, Xingchun YANG, Haihua ZHU, Wenjun LUO, Long CHEN, Yousheng ZHOU. Vehicular digital evidence preservation and access control based on consortium blockchain [J]. Journal of Computer Applications, 2025, 45(6): 1902-1910.
[10]	Gaimei GAO, Miaolian DU, Chunxia LIU, Yuli YANG, Weichao DANG, Guoxia DI. Privacy protection method for consortium blockchain based on SM2 linkable ring signature [J]. Journal of Computer Applications, 2025, 45(5): 1564-1572.
[11]	Han ZHANG, Hang YU, Jiwei ZHOU, Yunkai BAI, Lutan ZHAO. Survey on trusted execution environment towards privacy computing [J]. Journal of Computer Applications, 2025, 45(2): 467-481.
[12]	Mei TANG, Wunan WAN, Shibin ZHANG, Jinquan ZHANG. Survey of DDoS protection research based on blockchain [J]. Journal of Computer Applications, 2025, 45(11): 3416-3423.
[13]	Yuqi PENG, Jiaolong CHEN, Jiaqi YAN. Review of operational mechanisms for blockchain-based decentralized science systems [J]. Journal of Computer Applications, 2025, 45(11): 3407-3415.
[14]	Chunxia LIU, Hanying XU, Gaimei GAO, Weichao DANG, Zilu LI. Smart contract vulnerability detection method based on echo state network [J]. Journal of Computer Applications, 2025, 45(1): 153-161.
[15]	Min SUN, Shihang JIAO, Chenyan WANG. Credit based committee consensus mechanism [J]. Journal of Computer Applications, 2025, 45(1): 170-177.