Stochastic Simulation for Assessing DLT Application Design Quantitatively

Abstract

The distributed ledger technology (DL T) secures data and the execution of program code in a decentral network. This enables new forms of business cooperation without the need of central intermediaries. However, the design process of DLT applications is not a simple task. The engineering process is burdened with the responsibility of choosing a suitable distributed ledger implementation, that will cope with the environmental limitations and transaction loads. The nature of the distributed ledger technology makes an exchange of the technology base at a later point expensive and complicated, since every network participant needs to agree to the change. That makes prototyping and applied field tests difficult. Stochastic simulation is a means that allows to simulate complex systems that are affected by randomly occurring events. In this paper, we contribute to the advance of using stochastic simulation to support DLT application engineering processes by 1) presenting a structured approach in applying stochastic simulation, that is also configurable depending on individual evaluation goals, 2) use hypothesis tests to assess the model quality of the Ethereum block generation process, when using homogeneous Poisson processes and 3) discuss concrete measures that help assessing the feasibility of implementing an application on the Ethereum blockchain, which is demonstrated for German waterway transportation processes.