Integrated index blocks and searching in blockchain systems

Abstract

Systems and methods for indexing blockchain data in a blockchain system. These systems and methods receive a set of transactions from one or more transaction blocks of a blockchain, wherein the transactions in the set have been validated by one or more peer systems of the blockchain. The systems and methods further generate an index to one or more fields of one or more transactions in the set of transactions of the transaction block generate an index representative of at least one field in the set of transactions of the transaction block and provide the generated index for validation by a peer system of the blockchain. After receiving verification from at least a threshold number of peer systems that the generated index has been validated by the peer system, the generated index is stored as an index block in the blockchain.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method comprising:
 receiving a set of transactions of a transaction block of a blockchain, wherein the set of transactions have been validated by one or more peer systems of the blockchain;   generating, by a processing device, an index to one or more fields of one or more transactions of the transaction block;   providing the generated index for validation by a peer system of the blockchain;   receiving verification from at least a threshold number of peer systems that the generated index has been validated by the peer system; and   storing, by the processing device, the generated index as an index block in the blockchain.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the generated index is representative of a first subset of the set of transactions, wherein the method further comprises generating a second index representative of a second subset of the set of transactions. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising adding the index block to the blockchain and storing a hash of the index block in the blockchain to preserve its immutability. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving a query based on a field that is present in one or more transactions stored in the blockchain;   searching for transactions in which the field has one or more specified values, by searching in the index block of the blockchain;   identifying a responsive transaction block associated with the index block that satisfies the query based on a field; and   searching the transactions within the responsive transaction block for transactions satisfying the query.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , further comprising:
 loading, from the blockchain, a plurality of indexes relevant to the query received; and   merging the plurality of indexes into a single index.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising:
 adding, to the single index, recent blocks or recent transactions to update the single index for including the recent blocks or recent transactions.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising:
 adding a block of transactions to the single index for including transactions of the block.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 4 , further comprising:
 loading, based on a plurality of indexes stored on one or more peer systems, information of transactions recorded by the plurality of indexes into a monolithic index.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving, from a second peer system, a proposed index block of a second set of transactions of a second block of the blockchain;   determining that the proposed index block is a complete and consistent index of the second set of transactions;   providing an indication to the second peer system that the proposed index block has been validated; and   generating a hash of the proposed index block provided by the second peer system.   
     
     
         10 . A blockchain system comprising:
 a memory; and   a processing device, operatively coupled to the memory, to:
 receive a set of transactions of a transaction block of a blockchain, wherein the set of transactions have been validated by one or more peer systems of the blockchain; 
 generate an index to one or more fields of one or more transactions in the set of transactions of the transaction block; 
 provide the generated index for validation by a peer system of the blockchain; 
 receive verification from at least a threshold number of peer systems that the generated index has been validated by the peer system; and 
 store the generated index as an index block in the blockchain. 
   
     
     
         11 . The blockchain system of  claim 10 , wherein the generated index is representative of a first subset of the set of transactions, wherein the processing device is further to generate a second index representative of a second subset of the set of transactions. 
     
     
         12 . The blockchain system of  claim 10 , wherein the processing device is further to use a distributed consensus algorithm to add the index block to the blockchain and to store a hash of the index block in the blockchain to preserve its immutability. 
     
     
         13 . The blockchain system of  claim 10 , wherein the processing device is further to:
 receive a query based on a field that is present in one or more transactions stored in the blockchain, wherein the query specifies a value or values of the field;   search for transactions in which the field has the specified value or values, by searching in the index block of the blockchain;   identify a responsive transaction block associated with the index block that satisfies the query for the field; and   search the transactions within the responsive transaction block for transactions satisfying the query.   
     
     
         14 . The blockchain system of  claim 13 , wherein the processing device is further to:
 load, from the blockchain, a plurality of indexes relevant to the query received;   merge the plurality of indexes into a single index; and   add, to the single index, recent blocks or recent transactions to update the single index for including the recent blocks or recent transactions.   
     
     
         15 . The blockchain system of  claim 14 , wherein the processing device is further to:
 add a block of transactions to the single index for including transactions of the block.   
     
     
         16 . The blockchain system of  claim 10 , wherein the processing device is further to:
 receive, from a second peer system, a proposed index block of a second set of transactions of a second block of the blockchain;   determine that the proposed index block is a complete and consistent index of the second set of transactions; and   provide an indication to the second peer system that the proposed index block has been validated.   
     
     
         17 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a processing device, cause the processing device to:
 receive a set of transactions of a transaction block of a blockchain, wherein the set of transactions have been validated by one or more peer systems of the blockchain;   generate an index to one or more fields of one or more transactions in the set of transactions of the transaction block;   provide the generated index for validation by a peer system of the blockchain;   receive verification from at least a threshold number of peer systems that the generated index has been validated by the peer system; and   store the generated index as an index block in the blockchain.   
     
     
         18 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 17 , wherein the processing device is further to:
 receive a query based on a field that is present in one or more transactions stored in the blockchain, wherein the query specifies a value or values of the;   search for transactions in which the field has the specified value or values, by searching in the index block of the blockchain;   identify a responsive transaction block associated with the index block that satisfies the query for the field; and   search the transactions within the responsive transaction block for transactions satisfying the query.   
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 18 , wherein the processing device is further to:
 load, from the blockchain, a plurality of indexes relevant to the query received;   merge the plurality of indexes into a single index; and   add, to the single index, recent blocks or recent transactions to update the single index for including the recent blocks or recent transactions.   
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 17 , wherein the processing device is further to:
 receive, from a second peer system, a proposed index block of a second set of transactions of a second block of the blockchain;   determine that the proposed index block is a complete and consistent index of the second set of transactions; and   provide an indication to the second peer system that the proposed index block has been validated.