[Fiware-ngsi-blockchain] Outline of Architeture principles

[Juan Quemada]

Dear all,

I have prepared this outline as a basis for discussion in todays CallConf later.

Cheers

Juan
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Objective:

To develop an architecture and a conforming prototype infrastructure that implements a scalable and highly decentralized but trustworthy context information management platform, **** supporting decentralized and lightweight crowdsourcing of IoT applications and servides****.  The architecture will support the FIWARE NGSI de-facto standard API.   Such context information management infrastructure would leverage on blockchain technology and support secure transaction ledgers with a decentralized identity model, eliminating the need of trusted third parties. 

The architecture should be based in the following components or principles:

- A federated context broker model (compliant with FIWARE-NGSI) which leverages on blockchain technology to implement a trustworthy context management.

- Use federated and parallel composition of blockchain domains to improve blockchain scalability and performace problems, as well as specific configurations of blockchains to ensure a faster and more scalable operation.

- A federated platform identity model able to connect decentralized blockchain identity domains with tradicional identity models based on a trusted third party.
 
- Blockchain domains will be enriched with  a massive and secure distributed storage layer based on DHT  (P2P like Distributed HasTables) where the bulk content is properly linked and secured by the blockchain.

- To support the decentralized and trustable incorporation of SOCs (Systems on a Chip, i.e. Raspberry Pi) into the platform in order to allow crowdsourcing of IoT application and services.

- An IoT community server implementing cheap computing clouds based on farms or arrays of SOCs (Systems on a Chip, i.e. Raspberry Pi), to lower the computing costs associated to blockchain calculations. Those community servers,  based on docker containers. would move computing nodes to the edges in locations closer to the devices and sensors.
 
In addition the project may propose federated and decentralized governance models that allow to set up the governance principles and structure of  platforms in a way where blockchain domain and legacy domains with trusted third parties may coexist. 
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