INTRODUCTION

This article describes how the Internet of Things (IoT) can be configured using distributed ledger blockchain technology and peer-to-peer mesh networks. First, we introduce a model by Jeremy Rifkin that describes the structure of industrial revolutions. From this context, the IoT is introduced as the Third Industrial Revolution. It is described in terms of a set of regimes. Then, key enablers of the IoT are discussed, including 5G, IPv6, open source technologies and a new type of configuration management called the Ledger of Things (LoT). Finally, a number of use cases are discussed relating to the IoT and LoT.

THE STRUCTURE OF INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTIONS

As Rifkin describes, in the past three hundred years there have been three major industrial revolutions, representing paradigm shifts in world-view. The first one began in the mid-18th century, the second one in the mid-19th century, and the third and current one started in the late 20th century. Of this one, Rifkin states, ‘…the Internet of Things is the first smart-infrastructure revolution in history. It will connect every machine, business, residence, and vehicle in an intelligent network…’¹

Rifkin describes each of the three industrial revolutions in terms of the interactions of three interrelated regimes: communications, energy and transport. They are fundamental for managing, powering and moving economic life (Figure 1).

Figure 1 The three regimes of the IoT

In this context, the IoT can be seen as the current industrial revolution. Its characteristics are that of open systems and peer-to-peer connections (hence internetwork or internet regimes) rather than the closed systems that characterised the previous ones.

Of these regimes, the communications internet has already been built – it is the thing we commonly refer to as the internet, consisting of the world wide web and related technologies like the semantic web. The other regimes are being built right now. The energy internet (or Enernet)² is a new paradigm of energy transmission, whereby there is no central producer of energy for the masses. Instead, we see the idea of a producer of energy being a consumer as well (a prosumer), utilising peer-to-peer networks to buy and sell energy in a collaborative, distributed network. The transport internet refers to a distributed model of transportation and goods delivery based on autonomous self-driving vehicles. In conjunction, we have the technologies of artificial intelligence and robotisation that are accelerating this development.

The following table describes each industrial revolution in terms of the three regimes – communications, energy and transport – and how each one is organised. We see that the IoT is the first to encapsulate the ideas of a shared, collaborative, distributed and interconnected organisational model.

Table 1

So, given that the IoT is being built right now, how do we actually get there? Let us examine the enablers that will make the IoT complete.

ENABLERS FOR THE INTERNET OF THINGS

The following enablers for the IoT include 5G, IPv6, open source technologies and the LoT.

IPv6

The new IPv6 standard is the communications protocol that provides an identification and location system for computers on networks and routes traffic across the internet. It will provide identity to the projected 50 billion (5×10¹⁰) devices that are to come online with the IoT in the next few years. The previous standard, IPv4, ran out of addresses in 2011. IPv6 uses a 128-bit address, theoretically allowing 2¹²⁸ or approximately 3.4×10³⁸ addresses.³,⁴

5G

David Soldani describes a massive research effort of over 1000 researchers at 100 universities that are working to a 2020s timeframe in order to deliver the next generation of telephony.⁵ Requirements for this project are low latency, very reliable and high-bandwidth (>10 Gb/s) transmissions. Without this, the rapid peer-to-peer interconnection of devices in the IoT would not be possible.

Open standards

Open standards are important for the IoT as they reduce costs and encourage collaboration.⁶ There are many open source standards that exist today, including those for software (Linux), version control (GitHub), hardware (Facebook’s Open Compute Project), knowledge (Wikipedia) and AI (OpenAI).

There is one other enabler that has not yet been finalised: configuration management. We shall discuss this in the next section.

CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT

As of late 2015, configuring the IoT was still an unanswered question. Vincent Cerf described the issue and asked the question, ‘How do I configure large numbers of devices into my [IoT] network?’⁷

Current paradigms of configuration management described in ITIL®, for example, rely on a central control authority and fit well to support the second industrial revolution technologies. This does not work with the distributed, open and collaborative model of the IoT. Instead, we consider blockchain technologies in the form of a LoT to create a configuration management system for the IoT.⁸ The LoT could be used for both the configuration management and security of IoT devices.

Blockchain is an example of a distributed ledger system that uses cryptography in order to ensure the security of the ledger. The distributed digital currency of Bitcoin⁹ has proved successful as a ‘proof of concept’ for blockchain technologies. Rifkin describes Bitcoin;¹ however, he does not relate its underlying blockchain technology to the peer-to-peer mesh networks that will comprise the IoT.

Tapscott describes the use of the LoT to manage the configuration of the IoT.⁸ The LoT is designed to be used in a mesh network of peer-to-peer nodes that have no central control but instead talk to each other. The mesh network is distributed and has no central controller.¹⁰ A copy of the LoT exists on each node in the mesh network, and updates to the network configuration are automatically recorded in a copy of the LoT on each node. In the same way that the Bitcoin ledger is updated with an encrypted key, the LoT is updated; not by ‘miners’ (nodes that have update capability), but perhaps by a managing authority on the network. This differs from the traditional configuration management database (CMDB), which is kept as a central repository of infrastructure information of a company’s IT network.

Any object that is to be added into the network must be added to the LoT. If the encrypted update is not compatible with the existing transactions, it is rejected. This mirrors the operation of the immune system in the cells of an animal’s body. The body will reject a new object, if it does not conform to the characteristics of the extant cells.

The operation of the blockchain is similar to Ethernet technology. A node in an Ethernet sends out packets to all nodes in the network via the broadcast address (broadcasting). Only the node with the correct media access control (MAC) address will read the packet. All other nodes reject it.¹¹ Blockchain is similar; however, all nodes read and update their copy of the blockchain. This would result in increased network traffic, but the advent of 5G would increase bandwidth and be adequate to mitigate network slowdowns.

USE CASES FOR THE LEDGER OF THINGS

Given that the LoT can manage the configuration for the IoT, we now describe a number of use cases that showcase this utility. We briefly describe new ways of providing data centre management, supply chain management and road and home management systems using the LoT.

Data centre management

Data centres comprise networks of connected nodes. The configuration, monitoring and health of the nodes can be managed by the LoT. All incidents, problems and changes to the IT infrastructure of a company’s IT network can be shared with each node in the network. Here, the LoT consists of a level of encryption added as a layer on top of the relational database technology of the CMDB on each node. Only those actors with the correct private key can gain access and update the LoT. This removes the requirement for centralised storage of incident, problem, change and asset management data as in current implementations of IT service management.

By utilising the LoT, there is no need for auto-discovery of devices and service mapping scans of business services, as all changes to the network are authorised and synced to all network nodes as LoT updates. Therefore, no discovery agents or credentials are required to be installed on nodes, and no costly discovery applications are required to discover the configuration of nodes in the network, as every update is automatically shared with each node.

Supply chain management

Smart contracts, which are made up of distributed ledgers based on blockchains, can replace the manual versions of contracts between trading parties and their banks. As an example, in November 2016, the proof-of-concept trial for the first smart contract based on the blockchain was completed. CBA and Wells Fargo banks collaborated to deliver cotton to China from the USA using smart contracts instead of reams of paperwork. The contract was signed automatically when the shipment arrived in China, as verified by GPS.¹²

Road management systems

A roadway has its own requirements in its blockchain LoT that must be adhered to by each car that drives on it. The LoT acts as a driver licence or car registration for a given roadway. It behaves just like a normal car registration and driver licence, except there is one for each roadway instead of one per state or country. Once data is entered for a car entering a road system, the road system’s LoT is updated and it can be driven on again without re-registering. A copy of the LoT exists in each car and roadway system. It is a bit like a toll road that knows everything about every car that travels on it.

Home management systems

All devices connected in a mesh network in the home can be secured and managed by the LoT. Each time a device (say, a smart light bulb or refrigerator) is added to the home network, a copy of the LoT on each device is updated. Only authorised changes are allowed due to the encrypted key required to update the LoT. For example, a new refrigerator is to be purchased and installed in the home. At installation time, the home LoT is updated by using an existing key, a new key is generated for the transaction and the update is shared to the copy of the LoT on each extant device.

CONCLUSION

The IoT can be viewed as the third industrial revolution, characterised by its distributed, collaborative and open technologies. One way it can be configured is by utilising the LoT, which has the same characteristics as the IoT itself.

REFERENCES

1. Rifkin, J. (2014) The Zero Marginal Cost Society. Palgrave McMillan, New York, NY.

2. Metcalf, R. (2009) ‘Bob Metcalfe discusses the Enernet’. Singularity University. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cA811EPzwLI [12 December 2016].

3. The Internet Society (2016), ‘World IPv6 Launch’. Available from: https://www.internetsociety.org/history-timeline/world-ipv6-launch [5 June 2016].

4. World IPv6 Launch (2016). Available from: http://www.worldipv6launch.org [5 June 2016].

5. Soldani, D. (2015), ‘5G Networks, Services and Key Enabling Technologies’. BrightTalk Web Casts. Available from: https://www.brighttalk.com/webcast/8615/171547/5g-networks-services-and-key-technologies [5 June 2016].

6. OpenStand (2016) Open Standards. Available from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_standard#Joint_IEEE.2C_ISOC.2C_W3C.2C_IETF_and_IAB_Definition [26 Jun 2016].

7. Cerf, V. (2015) ‘The Coming Age of the Internet of Things’. NYU Sloan Lecture Series. Available from: http://engineering.nyu.edu/sloanseries/internet_of_the_things.php [5 June 2016].

8. Tapscott, D. & Tapscott, A. (2016) Blockchain Revolution. Penguin Random House, New York, NY.

9. Nakamoto, S. (2009) ‘Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System’. Available from: https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf [12 December 2016].

10. De Filippi, P. (2014) ‘It’s Time to Take Mesh Networks Seriously’. Available from: https://www.wired.com/2014/01/its-time-to-take-mesh-networks-seriously-and-not-just-for-the-reasons-you-think/ [3 November 2016].

11. Metcalf, R. & Boggs, D. (1976) ‘Ethernet: Distributed Packet Switching for Local Computer Networks’. Communications of the ACM, Vol 19 (7).

12. CBA (2016) ‘Commonwealth Bank, Wells Fargo and Brighann Cotton Pioneer Landmark Blockchain Trade Transaction’. Available from: https://www.commbank.com.au/guidance/newsroom/CBA-Wells-Fargo-blockchain-experiment-201610.html [7 November 2016].

NOTE

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