A Blockchain Network Communication Architecture Based on Information-Centric Networking

Blockchain technology, as a distributed ledger technology, is becoming increasingly popular in various fields. However, the performance limitations of blockchain networks hinder their further development. Existing research on optimizing blockchain communication mechanisms based on P2P networks is constrained by the end-to-end transmission principles of TCP/IP networks, which lead to network congestion and bandwidth wastage during large-scale blockchain content distribution. Meanwhile, studies on ICN-based blockchain systems primarily focus on blockchain communication protocol implementation and compatibility within ICN/NDN networks. However, research on blockchain communication mechanisms in hybrid IP/ICN networking environments remains limited, failing to fully leverage ICN’s advantages to enhance the communication efficiency of existing blockchain P2P networks. To address this issue, this paper proposes BLOCK-ICN, an ICN-based blockchain network communication architecture compatible with IP networks. BLOCK-ICN enables ICN nodes with computing and storage capabilities to deploy blockchain applications, while maintaining compatibility with P2P networks. By leveraging ICN multicast technology, the architecture provides relay acceleration services for blockchain data dissemination. Specifically, in terms of network topology, BLOCK-ICN classifies network domains based on delay information provided by an enhanced resolution system and establishes select domain gateways based on data flow forwarding dependencies, thereby constructing a hierarchical and structured relay network topology. Regarding the broadcast protocol, ICN nodes perform parallel broadcasting via ICN multicast, and upon receiving messages, they further disseminate them to P2P nodes, reducing the overall network broadcast latency and bandwidth consumption. We extended SimBlock to implement and evaluate BLOCK-ICN. Simulation results demonstrated that, in a Bitcoin network with 16,000 nodes and an ICN node ratio of 1%, the broadcast delays for propagating blockchain data to 90% and 50% of the network were reduced by 25% and 33.2%, respectively, compared to Bitcoin.