A Lightweight and Intelligent DBFT-Based Consensus Framework for Sustainable IoT Blockchain Networks

The fast-growing Internet of Things has opened up new possibilities of automation, connectivity, and intelligent decision-making in smart environments. Nevertheless, the problems of security, transparency, and control decentralization in resource-limited IoT networks remain major issues. A potential solution is blockchain technology; however, conventional consensus systems, such as Proof-of-Work and Proof-of-Stake, are not suitable for IoT applications because they are energy- and computationally intensive and not scalable. This research paper suggests an architecture of a secure and efficient automation of smart homes with real-time blockchain recording facilitated by a Lightweight Delegated Byzantine Fault Tolerance (LdBFT) protocol. The design provides solutions to major issues of the IoT system such as security, decentralization and scalability by proposing a lightweight consensus mechanism which is appropriate in resource constrained systems. The proposed study enhances the effectiveness of the IoT blockchain systems in terms of efficiency, security, and scalability. LdBFT protocol streamlines consensus functions with lightweight delegation and priority-based validation, which further guarantees low latency and energy usage as well as reliability and security in communication among distributed internet of thing devices in real-time smart homes. Experimental analysis demonstrates that the LdBFT protocol significantly reduces consensus wait time, increases fault tolerance against malicious or failed nodes, and consumes less energy than traditional blockchain protocols. Overall, the proposed system offers a scalable, resource-efficient, and secure blockchain architecture for use in smart home IoT settings.