An Integrated Blockchain and IPFS Solution for Secure and Efficient Source Code Repository Hosting using Middleman Approach

2024-09-22

arXiv.org

AI Summary

Centralized version control systems suffer from single-point failures and ownership disputes, while existing blockchain-based solutions incur excessive latency, hindering real-time collaborative development. To address these challenges, this paper proposes a decentralized source code hosting system integrating Ethereum and IPFS. We introduce the novel Middleman IPFS middleware architecture, unifying on-chain immutability with off-chain low-latency collaboration. Furthermore, we design a hybrid governance paradigm combining on-chain key management with off-chain encrypted storage, leveraging AES-RSA hybrid encryption and dynamic access validation. The system supports elastic scalability to multi-terabyte repositories, reduces synchronization latency by 62%, achieves access control response times under 200 ms, and ensures formal verification of permission logic completeness.

Technology Category

• Search and Optimization: Distributed Search
• Multiagent Systems: Coordination and Collaboration
• Data Mining & Knowledge Management: Scalability, Parallel & Distributed Systems

Application Category

• Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Decentralized Web and Fediverse systems
• Security and Privacy: Blockchains and distributed ledgers
• Economics, Online Markets and Human Computation: Economic aspects of blockchain and cryptocurrencies

Abstract

Version control systems (VCS) are essential for software development, yet centralized VCS present risks such as data loss, security breaches, and ownership disputes. While blockchain-based approaches to decentralized source code repository hosting have been explored, many existing solutions struggle with challenges related to security, scalability, efficiency, and real-time collaboration. This study seeks to enhance these efforts by proposing a novel decentralized solution that leverages the Ethereum blockchain and IPFS for secure, efficient, and resilient code repository hosting and governance. Our approach introduces a hybrid architecture that combines the immutable and decentralized nature of blockchain with the efficiency of IPFS for off-chain storage. To facilitate real-time collaboration, we integrate a temporary centralized Middleman IPFS that manages transaction processing and enhances operational efficiency without compromising long-term security. This Middleman IPFS acts as an intermediary, balancing the speed of centralized systems with the resilience of decentralized architectures. Our system uses smart contracts to maintain access control and key management by dynamically verifying access rights, ensuring that only authorized users can retrieve and decrypt data stored on IPFS. This integration allows for secure, real-time collaboration in environments where multiple collaborators need concurrent access to shared resources. Our system employs a hybrid encryption scheme that combines symmetric and asymmetric cryptography. The encrypted keys are stored on the blockchain, while IPFS handles the efficient storage of the codebase itself, with a Middleman IPFS maintaining concurrent collaboration, providing a robust and scalable solution for managing large-scale, collaborative coding projects.

Problem

• Centralized VCS risks data loss and ownership disputes
• Blockchain solutions face high latency, hindering real-time collaboration
• Need secure, efficient decentralized source code hosting platform

Innovation

• Hybrid Ethereum blockchain and IPFS architecture
• Shamir's Secret Sharing for key distribution
• Optimistic-fallback retrieval with middleware