- This research proposes an innovative user-node interaction mechanism designed to optimize user traffic across nodes and reduce the likelihood of users experiencing sub-par quality of service in DAG-based distributed ledgers.
- By focusing on DAG-based ledgers’ ability to process data in parallel and support leaderless consensus, this mechanism could address key issues related to delays, costs, and user exploitation in distributed ledger technologies.
The mass adoption of distributed ledger technology (DLT) hinges largely on usability, an area of increasing focus in both academia and industry. Particularly for enterprise applications, where many users prefer not to operate full node infrastructure, user-node interaction becomes a critical challenge to solve.
📣New research paper is out! Usability of distributed ledgers is crucial to their mainstream adoption – the problem: user-node interaction. Read this paper to learn about a possible solution for leaderless DAG-based Distributed Ledgers like #IOTA👇https://t.co/WjgRngFADh
— IOTA (@iota) July 20, 2023
Tackling User-Node Interaction in Leaderless DAG-Based Ledgers
In the realm of blockchain technology, where leaders compile users’ transactions into blocks, several strategies have attempted to improve user-node interaction. However, these methods fall short when applied to leaderless Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG)-based ledgers, like IOTA, due to their unique characteristics – absence of a shared mempool and concurrent block issuance capabilities of nodes.
In this context, we propose a new interaction mechanism specifically for these types of ledgers. This system is designed to distribute user traffic evenly across nodes, thereby minimizing the chances of users encountering poor quality of service. The underlying concept involves users choosing nodes for their transactions based on the quality of service indicators provided by the nodes.
One of the essential insights to understand this new interaction paradigm is the distinction between the key actors involved, namely nodes and users. Nodes are individuals or organizations that maintain a transaction record on the ledger and actively participate in network operations like consensus and validation. In contrast, users, which could be human or software agents, view the DLT as a tool for specific applications, primarily focused on sending transactions through the network.
A remarkable feature of DAG-based ledgers that makes them appealing is their potential for high transaction throughput and reduced delays. This is due to their ability to process new data concurrently, which in turn, could provide a better service for users at lower costs. Furthermore, the leaderless consensus, facilitated by the simultaneous addition of multiple new blocks, removes the undue power of block producers who might otherwise dictate what to include in their blocks.
Contrary to the shared mempool model employed by blockchains, leaderless DAG-based DLTs allow users to send each transaction directly to a chosen node. Each transaction is then placed in a block by the receiving node, and these blocks can be written in parallel to the ledger rather than sequentially by chosen leaders.
This innovative approach to user-node interaction, focused on DAG-based DLTs, can significantly enhance the Quality of Service for users. It promises to address key issues like transaction delays, high costs, and potential user exploitation, paving the way for more widespread adoption of these distributed ledgers.
