BARA: A blockchain-aided auction-based resource allocation in edge computing enabled industrial internet of things

Abstract

The recent emergence of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), a novel subset of Internet of Things (IoT), integrates sensors and intelligent devices with industry applications to develop a self-organizing system for creating enhanced and adaptive industrial environments. IIoT devices usually have limited computational power, while IIoT applications are mostly mission-critical and/or safety-critical. Therefore, these applications need computing resources that are closer to the devices. This work proposes a decentralized auction-based resource allocation mechanism in edge computing enabled IIoT using consortium blockchain and smart contract that shelves the involvement of a trusted third party, i.e. auctioneer. Various quality parameters are considered during resource allocation to address the mobility of both IIoT devices and edge resources, heterogeneity of edge servers, false assurance of edge servers, reliability, delay in results, and responsiveness of edge servers. Utility functions for IIoT devices are designed to calculate their degree of satisfaction depending on various quality parameters. The proposed blockchain-aided auction based mechanism fulfills various auction-based resource allocation requirements such as seal bidding, no impersonation of the bidder, no modification in any bid or result of allocation by the auctioneer, and proof for winners. The proposed work encourages edge servers for truthful bidding and furnishes the allocation results in polynomial time. Performance evaluation of the proposed model exhibits encouraging results.