Secure chain replication

Abstract

We propose an approach for enabling secure chain replication that is resilient against crash and arbitrary failures. The main contribution is provided by a service named Elias which acts as a proxy between clients and the chain replication system. Elias is a trusted service that ensures the secure communication between clients and the replication system while detecting any arbitrary failures through cryptographic hashing. Elias also provides reconfiguration for the chain to eliminate the node affected by a crash or arbitrary failure.