Alibaba Cloud Blockchain as a Service (BaaS) is built on Kubernetes and integrates with Alibaba Cloud infrastructure to let enterprises deploy cross-enterprise, cross-region blockchain networks without managing the underlying platform.
The architecture consists of five layers:
Infrastructure layer — deployment options across public and private cloud
Cloud resource layer — the underlying cloud resources that power blockchain nodes
Platform services layer — managed blockchain platform with multiple engine support
Mid-layer application — the integration bridge between BaaS and your business applications
Additional services — cross-cutting capabilities including security and operations management
Architecture diagram
Infrastructure layer
BaaS currently supports Alibaba Cloud public cloud and private cloud deployments. Hybrid cloud support is planned for a future release.
Cloud resource layer
This layer provides the foundational cloud resources that blockchain services and upper-layer applications run on:
| Resource | Full name | Role in BaaS |
|---|---|---|
| ECS | Elastic Compute Service | Compute nodes for blockchain peers and orderers |
| VPC | Virtual Private Cloud | Isolated network environment for secure inter-node communication |
| NAS | Network Attached Storage | Shared file storage for blockchain data persistence |
| SLB | Server Load Balancer | Traffic distribution across blockchain nodes |
Platform services layer
Built on Alibaba Cloud Container Service Kubernetes clusters, this layer is the core managed blockchain platform. Alibaba Cloud manages the platform operations — resource provisioning, configuration, monitoring, and certificate management — so your team focuses on blockchain application development rather than infrastructure.
The platform provides four categories of managed services:
Resource creation — provision blockchain nodes, channels, and network components
Resource management — configure and update network topology and membership
Resource operation — monitor node health and manage the lifecycle of blockchain resources
Security management — control access, manage certificates, and enforce network policies
Supported blockchain engines
The platform services layer supports three blockchain engines:
| Engine | Maintained by |
|---|---|
| Ant Blockchain | Ant Financial |
| Hyperledger Fabric 2.2 LTS | Linux Foundation |
| Enterprise Ethereum - Quorum | ConsenSys |
Mid-layer application
This is a reference architecture layer that connects BaaS with your business applications. Implementations typically take one of two forms:
Blockchain business solution — a domain-specific application layer built on top of BaaS APIs
Blockchain middleware — a general-purpose integration layer that abstracts BaaS APIs for multiple business applications
Additional services
Security management and operation management capabilities span all layers of the architecture, providing consistent observability and access control across your blockchain network.