Exploring Hyperledger Sawtooth: Model Checking Proof-of-Elapsed Time Algorithm and Testing Methods for Enterprise Blockchain Applications

Abstract

Blockchain 3.0 or distributed ledger applications are decentralized, autonomous organizational units governed by their laws. The distributed ledger here means that all records (for example, application data, function call results) are stored in a distributed way among nodes (or peers) of a private network. Cryptocurrencies are a specific application of distributed ledger technology focused on digital currency transactions, while distributed ledger applications have broader use cases beyond finance and other enterprise activities, using blockchains to enhance trust and transparency across various industries. This work aims to illustrate Hyperledger Sawtooth, which is now becoming an integral part of the Splinter platform, as a key example of a Blockchain 3.0 solution.We propose methodologies for modeling and verifying its consensus protocol and discuss the application testing for this platform using a containerization approach. We discuss key insights related to enterprise applications, the Hyperledger consortium, and the various components of the Hyperledger project. We provide a brief overview of Hyperledger architecture, focusing on the PoET (Proof-of-Elapsed Time) consensus protocol and the hardware methods employed to ensure its reliability. Additionally, we address formal verification techniques, particularly Model Checking, to verify the correctness of a simplified protocol model. Finally, we introduce our industrial solution for testing Sawtooth applications using Docker containerization.