Dynamic Reconfiguration of Software Systems Using Smart Contracts

Dynamic reconfiguration usually means that the system software or its configuration was modified during run time. This could lead to architectural changes, making the operation challenging, and this demands a high level of responsibility to manage the consequences of the intervention. Even if complicated, dynamic reconfiguration is bound to become increasingly used in deployed software systems. This is driven by the fact that systems are becoming more complex, and sometimes, their usage changes because of the changes in the environment or the user requirements. In other cases, one can need a new reconfiguration because of more recent versions of constituent components or subsystems. The implications of software reconfiguration and the ability to track and control such changes to the deployed software can be severe. Blockchain technology provides the underpinnings for logging transactions and running smart contracts as separate software units to help make intelligent decisions at run time, independently from the standard software architecture. This makes blockchain technology a great candidate to facilitate dynamic reconfiguration changes. Our study explores the existing blockchain solutions for tackling dynamic changes during run time.