The rapid evolution of Software-Defined Networking (SDN) has transformed network management by decoupling the control and data planes. It provides centralized control, enhanced flexibility, and programmability of network management services. However, this centralized control introduces security vulnerabilities and challenges related to data integrity, unauthorized access, and resource management. In addition, it brings forth significant challenges in secure and scalable data storage and computational resource management. These challenges are further increased by the need for real-time processing and the ever-increasing volume of data. To address these challenges, this paper presents a scalable blockchain-based framework for security and computational resource management in SDN architectures. The proposed framework ensures decentralized and tamper-resistant data handling and utilizes smart contracts for automated resource allocation. Due to the need for advanced security and scalability in SDN networks, this work incorporates sharding to improve parallel processing capabilities. The performance of sharded versus non-sharded blockchain systems under various network conditions is evaluated. Our findings demonstrate that the sharded blockchain model enhances scalability and throughput with robust security and fault tolerance. The framework is also assessed for its performance, scalability, and security to enhance SDN resilience against data breaches, malicious activities, and inefficient resource distribution. 
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                            PUFchain: Hardware-Assisted Scalable Blockchain
                        
                    
    
            his is an extended abstract for the research demo of a novel hardware-assisted scalable blockchain called PUFChain. This work presents a scalable energy-efficient private/permissioned blockchain (integrated with Physical Unclonable Functions or PUFs) which can bedeployed in the IoT. PUFs have a multiple of roles in the blockchain: higher security, lower latency, and reduced energy consumption. Experimental validations of PUFChain show a transaction time of 198ms.To the best of authors knowledge this is the first ever work that presents a comprehensive framework integrating PUFs in a blockchain. 
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                            - Award ID(s):
- 1924112
- PAR ID:
- 10158099
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Proceedings of the 5th IEEE International Symposium on Smart Electronic Systems (iSES)
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 324 to 325
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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