Edge Computing Integrated with Blockchain Technologies

Abstract

With the rapid increasing of the number of devices connected to the Internet of Things (IoTs), the traditional centralized cloud computing system is unable to satisfy the Quality of Service (QoS) for many applications, especially for areas with real-time, reliability and security. The edge computing as an extension of the cloud computing is introduced, which lies in its ability to transfer the sensitive data from cloud to the edge for increasing network security and to realize high frequency interaction and real-time transmission of data. However, that the edge servers maintain sensitive privacy information generates many important security issues for the edge computing network. Moreover, the data produced by IoT devices are separated into many parts and stored in different edges servers that are located in different locations, which is hard to guarantee data integrity due to data loss and incorrect data storage in edge servers. As the emergence of blockchain technologies, the various security problems and data integrity of the edge computing can be addressed by integrating blockchain technologies. In this paper, we present a comprehensive overview of edge computing integrated with blockchain technologies. Firstly, the blockchain technologies and the architecture of the edge computing are introduced. Secondly, the motivations and architecture of the edge computing integrated with blockchain are introduced. Thirdly, the related works about the edge computing integrated with blockchain that have been investigated are introduced. Finally, the research challenges are discussed.