Vertical Heterogeneous Channelling Consensual Systems

Consensus algorithms are crucial for data consistency in distributed systems with member nodes spread across the networks. Traditionally, consensus algorithms, such as Paxos and Raft, may not scale well for large memberships on the Internet. In this paper, we propose a geographically wide-area large-scale consensual system that runs on two types of communication media: (1) the wireline connections on the Internet, and (2) wireless broadcast channel through a High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) system. Each node in the system is a physical location on Earth's surface. A data center inside a building is one such example. We call our system a Channel Heterogeneous Consensual System (CHCS), and it can be classified as a type of Vertical Heterogeneous Network (VHetNet). The Channel Heterogeneous Consensus Protocol (CHCP) runs on the CHCS to facilitate consensus agreements for data values across all member nodes. Through simulations, the consensus agreements are achievable through the CHCP, and the system scales well for a large number of member nodes. In general, there are situations such as potential data losses through wireless communication channels, and there are cases where the HAPS airships may fail to reach the target recipients on Earth. In our system, there is backup wireline connectivity among all nodes running the regular Raft that can cover those nodes with lost messages. Through our simulations, especially for cases with large membership numbers, it is shown that the times required by the CHCS to achieve consensus agreements are in general faster than those of the regular wireline Raft algorithm.