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Interactive Visualization of Proof-of-Work Consensus Protocol on Raspberry Pi

Anton Ivashkevich, Matija Piškorec, Claudio J. Tessone

TL;DR

This paper presents a portable, educational prototype of an Ethereum PoW blockchain running on Raspberry Pi hardware with LCD visualization to illustrate consensus in real time. The approach combines a private Ethereum PoW network (Go Ethereum with a modified client) and Python-based visualization plus a Web UI to control network parameters, enabling offline demonstrations without internet access. Key contributions include full-node Raspberry Pi deployment, configurable network topology and mining settings, and comprehensive run logging for analysis of consensus dynamics, forks, and latency effects. The setup enables hands-on learning of blockchain fundamentals and supports research into how topology and delays influence PoW consensus, with potential extensions to attack scenario demonstrations.

Abstract

We describe a prototype of a fully capable Ethereum Proof-of-Work (PoW) blockchain network running on multiple Raspberry Pi (RPi) computers. The prototype is easy to set up and is intended to function as a completely standalone system, using a local WiFi router for connectivity. It features LCD screens for visualization of the local state of blockchain ledgers on each RPi, making it ideal for educational purposes and to demonstrate fundamental blockchain concepts to a wide audience. For example, a functioning PoW consensus is easily visible from the LCD screens, as well as consensus degradation which might arise from various factors, including peer-to-peer topology and communication latency - all parameters which can be configured from the central web-based interface.

Interactive Visualization of Proof-of-Work Consensus Protocol on Raspberry Pi

TL;DR

This paper presents a portable, educational prototype of an Ethereum PoW blockchain running on Raspberry Pi hardware with LCD visualization to illustrate consensus in real time. The approach combines a private Ethereum PoW network (Go Ethereum with a modified client) and Python-based visualization plus a Web UI to control network parameters, enabling offline demonstrations without internet access. Key contributions include full-node Raspberry Pi deployment, configurable network topology and mining settings, and comprehensive run logging for analysis of consensus dynamics, forks, and latency effects. The setup enables hands-on learning of blockchain fundamentals and supports research into how topology and delays influence PoW consensus, with potential extensions to attack scenario demonstrations.

Abstract

We describe a prototype of a fully capable Ethereum Proof-of-Work (PoW) blockchain network running on multiple Raspberry Pi (RPi) computers. The prototype is easy to set up and is intended to function as a completely standalone system, using a local WiFi router for connectivity. It features LCD screens for visualization of the local state of blockchain ledgers on each RPi, making it ideal for educational purposes and to demonstrate fundamental blockchain concepts to a wide audience. For example, a functioning PoW consensus is easily visible from the LCD screens, as well as consensus degradation which might arise from various factors, including peer-to-peer topology and communication latency - all parameters which can be configured from the central web-based interface.

Paper Structure

This paper contains 3 sections, 1 figure.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Description of the system
  3. Use cases

Figures (1)

  • Figure 1: A schematic of the system architecture, including a screenshot of the user interface (bottom left) and a photo of the demo setup (top right), running the consensus visualization on 9 RPi SBCs. In this particular situation block propagation is still in progress, as not all nodes are displaying the latest block (dark red one). Only several nodes are in sync, while others are creating forks to the network which introduces inconsistency in the network.