FIN555 ECA (End-of-Course Assessment) SUSS: July Semester 2024 – Hands-on Lab with Multichain

Question 1

Assess each of the following technologies:

a. public blockchain,
b. private blockchain,
c. centralised database

Design a scenario where each solution is exclusively suitable, and explain why the other two solutions would not be appropriate in those scenarios. You are advised to be as specific and detailed as possible in describing the scenarios, as this will give you more room to justify your decision for or against each technology. Marks will not be awarded if your explanations are not exclusive to each case.

Question 2

Construct a blockchain network for a consortium of small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) that operate in the supply chain industry. The primary objective of this blockchain network, named “Supply ChainNet,” is to enhance transparency, traceability, and security in the supply chain process. Each participant in the consortium will be running a node on the network, and they have agreed to use MultiChain as the underlying blockchain platform due to its flexibility in handling both on-chain and off- chain data.

Key Requirements:

Mining and Consensus: The consortium has decided to implement a proof-of- work-like consensus mechanism, but with the requirement that mining should be as inclusive as possible to all participants, regardless of their computational power. They want to avoid situations where one or two powerful nodes dominate the mining process.
Private Key Management: Each SMB is responsible for securely managing its own private keys to sign transactions and access the blockchain network. The consortium requires a solution that ensures private keys are fully protected from unauthorised access and are never exposed, even during cryptographic operations. The solution must securely manage all key-related processes in a tamper-resistant environment, fully integrating with MultiChain’s signing and authentication protocols.
Governance: The consortium requires a governance model to manage network rules, updates, and permissions. The model must ensure that all participants have a fair and proportional say in decision-making processes, while preventing any single entity from exerting undue influence over the network. This governance model should integrate seamlessly with MultiChain’s permission management system and support automated voting mechanisms for proposing and approving changes to the network.

Consider the key requirements outlined above and provide a response on how MultiChain’s specific features, configurations, and functionalities can be applied to meet each of the key requirements outlined above. Ensure that your design is coherent, logically structured, and directly relevant to the real-world application of MultiChain in the supply chain industry.

Question 3

Assess the new requirements for the blockchain network from the consortium of small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in the supply chain industry. The consortium feels that to truly exploit the benefits of blockchain technology, they want to open up the network to external users, such as customers and suppliers, to verify the authenticity and traceability of products. This decision is driven by the need to enhance trust and transparency in the supply chain process. However, they are concerned about the potential risks and challenges associated with allowing external users to access the blockchain network.
Consider the key requirements outlined above and provide a response on how MultiChain’s specific features, configurations, and functionalities can be applied to meet this requirement. Include any caveats or limitations that the consortium should be aware of regarding its implementation. Ensure that your response is coherent, logically structured, and directly relevant to the real-world application of MultiChain in the supply chain industry.

Question 4

Assess the following configurations for a blockchain network designed for a consortium of SMBs in the supply chain industry. The goal is to balance transaction throughput with the inclusivity of nodes that have varying levels of computational resources. The network administrators have narrowed down the choices to three configurations:

Answer the following questions:
a. Given the configurations listed above, which configuration would you recommend for a blockchain network that is expected to handle a sudden spike in transaction volume due to seasonal demand in the supply chain? Justify your choice by considering the trade-offs between transaction throughput and node inclusivity.

b. Suppose the consortium decides to prioritise inclusivity, ensuring that even the smallest SMBs with limited computational resources can fully participate in the network. However, they are concerned about the impact on transaction confirmation speed. How would you address these concerns while recommending one of the configurations? Discuss any potential adjustments or additional measures that could be implemented to mitigate the drawbacks of your chosen configuration.

Question 5

Assess the following scenario.
Bob is the infrastructure Manager at a financial institution and Alice, Bob’s colleague, is the network administrator for BankNet, a MultiChain blockchain network that the institution is joining. Due to bank policy, Alice does not have login credentials to the server and depends on Bob to perform server-related tasks. Both Bob and Alice have attended a MultiChain training session organised by the consortium and their goals are to ensure the Bank’s node contributes to decentralised governance and supports a fair mining process, thereby strengthening the institution’s role in the consortium.

a. At this current stage, Bob has successfully set up a new node at the address 192.168.1.100 and is now working to integrate it into BankNet via the seed node outside the bank at address 172.29.168.19 with default network port  12011 and rpc port 12012. He issues the command multichaind chain1@172.29.168.19:12011 and receives the following output. Explain if Bob has successfully connected to the network and what the output indicates. If not, suggest what could have happened and how he should rectify the issue

b. Alice would like to connect to the blockchain using multichain-cli to complete the setup. Can she do this without server access? Explain why or why not.

c. Alice has written an app that uses the MultiChain API to interact with the blockchain. She is testing the app by executing the following curl command. Explain all the reasons why this might return an error.

Question 6

Assess the scenario below involving an atomic asset swap between Alice and Bob on MultiChain:

Alice and Bob are two independent traders who frequently exchange digital assets on the MultiChain blockchain. They have previously encountered issues with counterparty risk when performing bilateral swaps, where one party might not fulfill their end of the transaction. To mitigate this risk, they initially used a trusted third party (TTP) to facilitate their exchanges. However, they found the fees and reliance on the TTP to be cumbersome and sought a more efficient solution.

Alice and Bob decide to leverage MultiChain’s atomic swap capabilities to perform their asset exchanges directly, without the need for a TTP. They both hold different assets on the MultiChain blockchain:
Alice:

 Bob:
o Holds 500 units of Asset A.
o Wants to acquire 300 units of Asset B.
o Holds 400 units of Asset B.
o Wants to acquire 200 units of Asset A.

They agree to perform an atomic swap where Alice will send 200 units of Asset A to Bob, and Bob will send 300 units of Asset B to Alice.

a. Describe in detail each step that Alice needs to execute using appropriate MultiChain commands from locking her assets until submitting her part of the exchange transaction for completing an atomic swap with Bob.

b. After executing “preparelockunspent” command successfully by both parties, describe how you would verify that both parties have indeed locked their respective amounts for exchange before proceeding further with creating raw transactions?

c. Suppose after creating her partial transaction but before finalising it with “sendrawtransaction”, Alice decides she no longer wants or is able proceed with this specific trade agreement due unexpected reasons..Explain what can she do invalidated pending operation ensuring none asserts transfered out unintended action effects?

Question 7

Assess the following scenario.
A new digital library system is being developed in Bookville, using a MultiChain private blockchain to manage book inventory, borrowing transactions, and audit logs.
Alice: Head Librarian, manages overall library operations.

 Bob: Librarian, handles book issuing and returns.
Charlie: Library Administrator, updates the book inventory.
Diana: Independent auditor, ensures transparency and accuracy.

The scenario involves setting up a MultiChain network where Alice issues assets representing the book inventory. Bob verifies borrowing transactions on the blockchain, Charlie updates the inventory for acquisitions or removals, and Diana audits the transactions for transparency.

a. Design a permission matrix which could limit specific actions that can be performed by Alice, Bob, Charlie, and Diana.

b. What command would Alice need to issue book inventory assets for the library?

c. Suggest how Bob could verify & validate each borrowing transaction on the blockchain using MultiChain’s streams feature.

d. How should Charlie update the book inventory based on new acquisitions?

Question 8

Assess the following scenario. Alice and Bob are developers working on a blockchain- based supply chain management system using MultiChain.
Alice: A senior developer with “create” permissions on the MultiChain network. Bob: A junior developer who needs to publish and verify data on the blockchain. Alice creates a stream named “product-tracking” to store information about products as they move through the supply chain. She grants Bob write permissions so he can add data to the stream. Bob subscribes to the “product-tracking” stream and starts publishing data, including timestamps, product IDs, and status updates in JSON format. Bob also needs to retrieve and verify stream items to ensure accuracy.

a. As Alice with “create” permissions on MultiChain:

What command would you use to create an open stream named product-tracking where anyone can publish?

• How would you grant write permission specifically for Bob whose address is *1PCTn8xu5YM3A4Wm45U7uKppjJzVsEERtJ”?

b. Bob now has permission from Alice:

Describe how Bob would subscribe himself into product-tracking without rescanning existing transactions? Include detailed command usage
 Provide an example of how Bob could publish an update recording that Product ID ‘1234’ has been shipped on date “2023-04-15″ with carrier name ‘FastShip Ltd”. Use key-value structure ensuring both timestamped event & carrier info should be searchable independently

c. Considering your role as an external auditor:

Describe which command(s), assuming prior subscription access; you would execute specifically targeting verification of “Delivery” stage events only within product tracking, including verbose information detailing whenever
necessary.

The post FIN555 ECA (End-of-Course Assessment) SUSS: July Semester 2024 – Hands-on Lab with Multichain appeared first on Singapore Assignment Help.