Analyzing the Performance of Distributed Ledger Technologies in 6G
Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLTs) have turned out to be an underlying enabler of trust, security, and automation in the next-generation wireless networks (6G). Contrasting centralized control models, the DLTs offer decentralized coordination, record keeping which is immutable, and programmable logic, which is consistent with the ultra-dense and intelligent heterogeneous ecosystems of 6G. The paper has discussed the performance implications of incorporation of the SDLTs with 6G networks in blockchain, directed acyclic graph based ledger and hybrid DLT architectures. There was an integrated DLT-6G framework where cross-layer communication between radio access, core, edge computing, and distributed ledgers was highlighted. To model the latency of transactions, their throughput, energy usage, and consensus overhead were modeled based on the 6G communication characteristics including ultra-low latency, massive connectivity, and edge intelligence. A large-scale set of simulations was done to test the DLT-based network slicing, secure resource orchestration, and AI-assisted ledger management and compared the results to that of traditional non-DLT methods. The results have shown that lightweight and DAG-based DLTs were much more cost-effective in terms of confirmation delay and energy usage, whereas in dense 6G operation, hybrid designs were more scalable and dependable. Moreover, ledger management with the help of AI improved flexibility in changing the conditions of traffic and mobility.