A Trustworthy Framework for Multi-Cloud Service Management: Self-Sovereign Identity Integration

Self-Sovereign-Identity (SSI) technologies based on blockchain networks (BCNs) are increasingly used in various industries, including telecommunications. To address the strict governance of telecommunication infrastructure, we propose a decentralized architecture based on BCN and BCN-based SSI for network management and orchestration to fully involve multiple entities in the management. The proposed solution aims to provide a trusted environment for Cloud Service Providers (CSPs), Vertical Service Providers (SPs) and Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to manage the lifecycle of network services (such as instantiation, scaling, termination) in a multi-cloud environment. The identity authentication mechanism ensures control of permissions and cross-entity collaboration. The proposed approach is validated through an experimental scenario using Hyperledger Indy and Quorum BCN to measure various performance metrics related to service orchestrator (SO)-related instantiation and SSI credential verification metrics to to ensure improved feasibility, scalability, reliability, and performance. Our evaluation results show that the average time for writing data to the BCN is on the order of seconds, while the average times for different credential operations range from milliseconds to several hundred milliseconds, indicating that these operations are accomplished within shorter timeframes in the implemented system. We also provide recommendations for optimizing the system and address some observed challenges.