LMPT: A Novel Authenticated Data Structure to Eliminate Storage Bottlenecks for High Performance Blockchains

Abstract

We present the Layered Merkle Patricia Trie (LMPT), a performant storage data structure for processing transactions in high-throughput systems when compared to traditional Merkle Patricia Tries used in Ethereum clients. LMPTs keep smaller intermediary tries in memory to alleviate read and write amplification from high-latency disk storage. As an additional feat, they also allow for the I/O and transaction verifier threads to be scheduled in parallel and independently. LMPTs can ultimately reduce significant I/O traffic that happens on the critical path of transaction processing. Empirical results show that LMPTs can process up to$\times6$more transactions per second on real-life ERC20 smart contract workloads when compared to existing Ethereum clients.