A new solution for the Byzantine agreement problem

Reliability is an important research topic in distributed computing systems consisting of a large number of processors. To achieve reliability, the fault-tolerance scheme of the distributed computing system must be revised. This kind of problem is known as a Byzantine agreement (BA) problem. It requires all fault-free processors to agree on a common value, even if some components are corrupt. Consequently, there have been significant studies of this agreement problem in distributed systems. However, the traditional BA protocols focus on running ⌊(n−1)/3⌋+1 rounds of message exchange continuously to make each fault-free processor reach an agreement. In other words, since having a large number of messages results in a large protocol overhead, those protocols are inefficient and unreasonable, especially for some network environments which have large number of processors. In this study, we propose a novel and efficient protocol to reduce the number of messages. Our protocol can collect, compare and replace the received values to find the reliable processors and replace the values sent by the unreliable processors. Subsequently, each processor can agree on a common value through three rounds of message exchange. Furthermore, the proposed protocol can use the minimum number of messages to tolerate the maximum number of faulty components in a distributed system.     

Embedding a long fault-free cycle in a crossed cube with more faulty nodes

The crossed cube is an important variant of the most popular hypercube network for parallel computing. In this paper, we consider the problem of embedding a long fault-free cycle in a crossed cube with more faulty nodes. We prove that for n?5 and f?2n−7, a fault-free cycle of length at least n²−f−(n−5) can be embedded in an n-dimensional crossed cube with f faulty nodes. Our work extends some previously known results in the sense of the maximum number of faulty nodes tolerable in a crossed cube.     

A new analysis of a self-stabilizing maximum weight matching algorithm with approximation ratio 2

The maximum weight matching problem is a fundamental problem in graph theory with a variety of important applications. Recently Manne and Mjelde presented the first self-stabilizing algorithm computing a 2-approximation of the optimal solution. They established that their algorithm stabilizes after O(2ⁿ) (resp. O(3ⁿ)) moves under a central (resp. distributed) scheduler. This paper contributes a new analysis, improving these bounds considerably. In particular it is shown that the algorithm stabilizes after O(nm) moves under the central scheduler and that a modified version of the algorithm also stabilizes after O(nm) moves under the distributed scheduler. The paper presents a new proof technique based on graph reduction for analyzing the complexity of self-stabilizing algorithms.     

An optimal maximal independent set algorithm for bounded-independence graphs

We present a novel distributed algorithm for the maximal independent set problem (This is an extended journal version of Schneider and Wattenhofer in Twenty-seventh annual ACM SIGACT-SIGOPS symposium on principles of distributed computing, 2008). On bounded-independence graphs our deterministic algorithm finishes in O(log* n) time, n being the number of nodes. In light of Linial’s Ω(log* n) lower bound our algorithm is asymptotically optimal. Furthermore, it solves the connected dominating set problem for unit disk graphs in O(log* n) time, exponentially faster than the state-of-the-art algorithm. With a new extension our algorithm also computes a δ + 1 coloring and a maximal matching in O(log* n) time, where δ is the maximum degree of the graph.     

Delay Optimization in Quorum Consensus

The management of replicated data in distributed database systems is a classic problem with great practical importance. Quorum consensus is one of the popular methods, combined with eager replication, for managing replicated data. In this paper we investigate the problems of delay-optimal quorum consensus. Firstly, we show that the problem of minimizing the total delay (or mean delay) restricted to a ring can be solved in a constant time in contrast to the existing approximation results. Secondly, we show that the problem of minimizing the total delay (or mean delay) is NP-hard. Thirdly, we present an approximate algorithm with an approximate ratio 2; and the approximate algorithm can guarantee the exact solutions for some specific network topology, such as trees and meshes. Finally, we present an improvement on the existing algorithm to solve the problem of minimizing the maximal delay; this reduces the time complexity from O(n ³ log n) to O(n ³) where n is the number of nodes.     

Delay Optimization in Quorum Consensus

The management of replicated data in distributed database systems is a classic problem with great practical importance. Quorum consensus is one of the popular methods, combined with eager replication, for managing replicated data. In this paper we investigate the problems of delay-optimal quorum consensus. Firstly, we show that the problem of minimizing the total delay (or mean delay) restricted to a ring can be solved in a constant time in contrast to the existing approximation results. Secondly, we show that the problem of minimizing the total delay (or mean delay) is NP-hard. Thirdly, we present an approximate algorithm with an approximate ratio 2; and the approximate algorithm can guarantee the exact solutions for some specific network topology, such as trees and meshes. Finally, we present an improvement on the existing algorithm to solve the problem of minimizing the maximal delay; this reduces the time complexity from O(n ³ log n) to O(n ³) where n is the number of nodes.     

Communication-Efficient Broadcasting in Complete Networks with Dynamic Faults

We consider the problem of message (and bit) efficient broadcasting in complete networks with dynamic faults. Despite the simplicity of the setting, the problem turned out to be surprisingly interesting from the algorithmic point of view. In this paper we show an Ω(n + t f ^{t/(t – 1)}) lower bound on the number of messages sent by any t-step broadcasting algorithm, where f is the number of faults per step. The core of the paper contains a constructive O(n + t f ^{(t + 1)/t} ) upper bound. The algorithms involved are of time complexity O(t), not strictly t. In addition, we present a bit-efficient algorithm of O(n log² n) bit and O(log n) time complexities. We also show that it is possible to achieve the same message complexity even if the nodes do not know the id’s of their neighbours, but instead have only a Weak Sense of Direction.     

Some problems in distributed computational geometry

In a planar geometric network vertices are located in the plane, and edges are straight line segments connecting pairs of vertices, such that no two of them intersect. In this paper we study distributed computing in asynchronous, failure-free planar geometric networks, where each vertex is associated to a processor, and each edge to a bidirectional message communication link. Processors are aware of their locations in the plane.We consider fundamental computational geometry problems from the distributed computing point of view, such as finding the convex hull of a geometric network and identification of the external face. We also study the classic distributed computing problem of leader election, to understand the impact that geometric information has on the message complexity of solving it.We obtain an O(nlog²n) message complexity algorithm to find the convex hull, and an O(nlogn) message complexity algorithm to identify the external face of a geometric network of n processors. We present a matching lower bound for the external face problem. We prove that the message complexity of leader election in a geometric ring is Ω(nlogn), hence geometric information does not help in reducing the message complexity of this problem.     

Autonomous fault-diagnosis and decision-making algorithm for determining faulty nodes in distributed wireless networks

In this paper, we address fault-diagnosis agreement (FDA) problems in distributed wireless networks (DWNs) with arbitrary fallible nodes and healthy access points. We propose a new algorithm to reach an agreement among fault-free members about the faulty ones. The algorithm is designed for fully connected DWN and can also be easily adapted to partially connected networks. Our contribution is to reduce the bit complexity of the Byzantine agreement process by detecting the same list of faulty units in all fault-free members. Therefore, the malicious units can be removed from other consensus processes. Also, each healthy unit detects a local list of malicious units, which results in lower packet transmissions in the network. Our proposed algorithm solves FDA problems in 2t+1 rounds of packet transmissions, and the bit complexity in each wireless node is O(n^t+1).     

Sleeping on the Job: Energy-Efficient and Robust Broadcast for Radio Networks

We address the problem of minimizing power consumption when broadcasting a message from one node to all the other nodes in a radio network. To enable power savings for such a problem, we introduce a compelling new data streaming problem which we call the Bad Santa problem. Our results on this problem apply for any situation where: (1) a node can listen to a set of n nodes, out of which at least half are non-faulty and know the correct message; and (2) each of these n nodes sends according to some predetermined schedule which assigns each of them its own unique time slot. In this situation, we show that in order to receive the correct message with probability 1, it is necessary and sufficient for the listening node to listen to a \(\Theta(\sqrt{n})\) expected number of time slots. Moreover, if we allow for repetitions of transmissions so that each sending node sends the message O(log?^? n) times (i.e. in O(log?^? n) rounds each consisting of the n time slots), then listening to O(log?^? n) expected number of time slots suffices. We show that this is near optimal.We describe an application of our result to the popular grid model for a radio network. Each node in the network is located on a point in a two dimensional grid, and whenever a node sends a message m, all awake nodes within L _∞ distance r receive m. In this model, up to \(t<\frac{r}{2}(2r+1)\) nodes within any 2r+1 by 2r+1 square in the grid can suffer Byzantine faults. Moreover, we assume that the nodes that suffer Byzantine faults are chosen and controlled by an adversary that knows everything except for the random bits of each non-faulty node. This type of adversary models worst-case behavior due to malicious attacks on the network; mobile nodes moving around in the network; or static nodes losing power or ceasing to function. Let n=r(2r+1). We show how to solve the broadcast problem in this model with each node sending and receiving an expected \(O(n\log^{2}{|m|}+\sqrt{n}|m|)\) bits where |m| is the number of bits in m, and, after broadcasting a fingerprint of m, each node is awake only an expected \(O(\sqrt{n})\) time slots. Moreover, for t≤(1?ε)(r/2)(2r+1), for any constant ε>0, we can achieve an even better energy savings. In particular, if we allow each node to send O(log?^? n) times, we achieve reliable broadcast with each node sending O(nlog?²|m|+(log?^? n)|m|) bits and receiving an expected O(nlog?²|m|+(log?^? n)|m|) bits and, after broadcasting a fingerprint of m, each node is awake for only an expected O(log?^? n) time slots. Our results compare favorably with previous protocols that required each node to send Θ(|m|) bits, receive Θ(n|m|) bits and be awake for Θ(n) time slots.     

A linear time algorithm for computing a most reliable source on a tree network with faulty nodes

Given an unreliable communication network, we seek for a node which maximizes the expected number of nodes that are reachable from it. Such a node is called a most reliable source (MRS) of the network. In communication networks, failures may occur to both links and nodes. Previous studies have considered the case where each link has an independent operational probability, while the nodes are immune to failures. In practice, however, failures may happen to the nodes as well, including both transmitting fault and receiving fault. Recently, another variant of the MRS problem is studied, where all links are immune to failures and each node has an independent transmitting probability and receiving probability, and an O(n²) time algorithm is presented for computing an MRS on tree networks with n nodes. In this paper, we present a faster algorithm for this problem, with a time complexity of O(n).     

Improving bounds on link failure tolerance of the star graph

Determination of the minimum number of faulty links, f(n,k), that make every n-k-dimensional sub-star graph S_n-k faulty in an n-dimensional star network S_n, has been the subject of several studies. Bounds on f(n,k) have already been derived, and it is known that f(n,1)=n+2. Here, we improve the bounds on f(n,k). Specifically, it is shown that f(n,k)?(k+1)F(n,k), where F(n,k) is the minimum number of faulty nodes that make every S_n-k faulty in S_n. The complexity of f(n,k) is shown to be O(n²k) which is an improvement over the previously known upper bound of O(n³); this result in a special case leads to f(n,2)=O(n^↑2), settling a conjecture introduced in an earlier paper. A systematic method to derive the labels of the faulty links in case of f(n,1) is also introduced.     

A self-adjusting algorithm for byzantine agreement

Summary Byzantine Agreement is important both in the theory and practice of distributed computing. However, protocols to reach Byzantine Agreement are usually expensive both in the time required as well as in the number of messages exchanged. In this paper, we present a self-adjusting approach to the problem. The Mostly Byzantine Agreement is proposed as a more restrictive agreement problem that requires that in the consecutive attempts to reach agreement, the number of disagreements (i.e., failures to reach Byzantine Agreement) is finite. Fort faulty processes, we give an algorithm that has at mostt disagreements for 4t or more processes. Another algorithm is given forn3t+1 processes with the number of disagreements belowt ²/2. Both algorithms useO(n ³) message bits for binary value agreement. Yi Zhao is currently working on his Ph.D. degree in Computer Science at University of Houston. His research interests include fault tolerance, distributed computing, parallel computation and neural networks. He obtained his M.S. from University of Houston in 1988 and B.S. from Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics in 1984, both in computer science. Farokh B. Bastani received the B. Tech. degree in electrical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, India, and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering and computer science from the University of California, Berkeley. He joined the University of Houston in 1980, where he is currently an Associate Professor of Computer Science. His research interests include software design and validation techniques, distributed systems, and fault-tolerant systems. He is a member of the ACM and the IEEE and is on the editorial board of theIEEE Transactions on Software Engineering.     

Gossiping by processors prone to omission failures

We consider the gossip problem in a synchronous message-passing system. Participating processors are prone to omission failures, that is, a faulty processor may fail to send or receive a message. The gossip problem in the fault-tolerant setting is defined as follows: every correct processor must learn the initial value of any other processor, unless the other one is faulty; in the latter case either the initial value or the information about the fault must be learned. We develop two efficient algorithms that solve the gossip problem in time O(logn), where n is the number of processors in the system. The first one is an explicit algorithm (i.e., constructed in polynomial time) sending O(nlogn+f²) messages, and the second one reduces the message complexity to O(n+f²), where f is the upper bound on the number of faulty processors.     

Distributed algorithms for ultrasparse spanners and linear size skeletons

We present efficient algorithms for computing very sparse low distortion spanners in distributed networks and prove some non-trivial lower bounds on the tradeoff between time, sparseness, and distortion. All of our algorithms assume a synchronized distributed network, where relatively short messages may be communicated in each time step. Our first result is a fast distributed algorithm for finding an ${O(2^{{\rm log}^{*} n} {\rm log} n)}We present efficient algorithms for computing very sparse low distortion spanners in distributed networks and prove some non-trivial lower bounds on the tradeoff between time, sparseness, and distortion. All of our algorithms assume a synchronized distributed network, where relatively short messages may be communicated in each time step. Our first result is a fast distributed algorithm for finding an O(2^{log* n} log n){O(2^{{\rm log}^{*} n} {\rm log} n)} -spanner with size O(n). Besides being nearly optimal in time and distortion, this algorithm appears to be the first that constructs an O(n)-size skeleton without requiring unbounded length messages or time proportional to the diameter of the network. Our second result is a new class of efficiently constructible (α, β)-spanners called Fibonacci spanners whose distortion improves with the distance being approximated. At their sparsest Fibonacci spanners can have nearly linear size, namely O(n(loglogn)^f){O(n(\log \log n)^{\phi})} , where f = (1 + ?5)/2{\phi = (1 + \sqrt{5})/2} is the golden ratio. As the distance increases the multiplicative distortion of a Fibonacci spanner passes through four discrete stages, moving from logarithmic to log-logarithmic, then into a period where it is constant, tending to 3, followed by another period tending to 1. On the lower bound side we prove that many recent sequential spanner constructions have no efficient counterparts in distributed networks, even if the desired distortion only needs to be achieved on the average or for a tiny fraction of the vertices. In particular, any distance preservers, purely additive spanners, or spanners with sublinear additive distortion must either be very dense, slow to construct, or have very weak guarantees on distortion.     

Computing the Map of Geometric Minimal Cuts

In this paper we consider the following problem of computing a map of geometric minimal cuts (called MGMC problem): Given a graph G=(V,E) and a planar rectilinear embedding of a subgraph H=(V _H ,E _H ) of G, compute the map of geometric minimal cuts induced by axis-aligned rectangles in the embedding plane. The MGMC problem is motivated by the critical area extraction problem in VLSI designs and finds applications in several other fields. In this paper, we propose a novel approach based on a mix of geometric and graph algorithm techniques for the MGMC problem. Our approach first shows that unlike the classic min-cut problem on graphs, the number of all rectilinear geometric minimal cuts is bounded by a low polynomial, O(n ³). Our algorithm for identifying geometric minimal cuts runs in O(n ³logn(loglogn)³) expected time which can be reduced to O(nlogn(loglogn)³) when the maximum size of the cut is bounded by a constant, where n=|V _H |. Once geometric minimal cuts are identified we show that the problem can be reduced to computing the L _∞ Hausdorff Voronoi diagram of axis aligned rectangles. We present the first output-sensitive algorithm to compute this diagram which runs in O((N+K)log² NloglogN) time and O(Nlog² N) space, where N is the number of rectangles and K is the complexity of the Hausdorff Voronoi diagram. Our approach settles several open problems regarding the MGMC problem.     

Internal and external algorithms for the points-in-regions problem—the inside join of geo-relational algebra

We consider the problem of collectively locating a set of points within a set of disjoint polygonal regions when neither for points nor for regions preprocessing is allowed. This problem arises in geometric database systems. More specifically it is equivalent to computing theinside join of geo-relational algebra, a conceptual model for geo-data management. We describe efficient algorithms for solving this problem based on plane-sweep and divide-and-conquer, requiringO(n(logn) +t) andO(n(log² n) +t) time, respectively, andO(n) space, wheren is the total number of points and edges, and (is the number of reported (point, region) pairs. Since the algorithms are meant to be practically useful we consider as well as the internal versions-running completely in main memory-versions that run internally but use much less than linear space and versions that run externally, that is, require only a constant amount of internal memory regardless of the amount of data to be processed. Comparing plane-sweep and divide-and-conquer, it turns out that divide-and-conquer can be expected to perform much better in the external case even though it has a higher internal asymptotic worst-case complexity. An interesting theoretical by-product is a new general technique for handling arbitrarily large sets of objects clustered on a singlex-coordinate within a planar divide-and-conquer algorithm and a proof that the resulting “unbalanced” dividing does not lead to a more than logarithmic height of the tree of recursive calls.     

Approximate motion planning and the complexity of the boundary of the union of simple geometric figures

We study rigid motions of a rectangle amidst polygonal obstacles. The best known algorithms for this problem have a running time of Ω(n ²), wheren is the number of obstacle corners. We introduce thetightness of a motion-planning problem as a measure of the difficulty of a planning problem in an intuitive sense and describe an algorithm with a running time ofO((a/b · 1/?_crit + 1)n(logn)²), wherea ≥b are the lengths of the sides of a rectangle and ?_crit is the tightness of the problem. We show further that the complexity (= number of vertices) of the boundary ofn bow ties (see Figure 1) isO(n). Similar results for the union of other simple geometric figures such as triangles and wedges are also presented.     

Interval routing schemes allow broadcasting with linear message-complexity

Summary. The purpose of compact routing is to provide a labeling of the nodes of a network and a way to encode the routing tables, so that routing can be performed efficiently (e.g., on shortest paths) whilst keeping the memory-space required to store the routing tables as small as possible. In this paper, we answer a long-standing conjecture by showing that compact routing may also assist in the performance of distributed computations. In particular, we show that a network supporting a shortest path interval routing scheme allows broadcasting with a message-complexity of O(n), where n is the number of nodes of the network. As a consequence, we prove that O(n) messages suffice to solve leader-election for any graph labeled by a shortest path interval routing scheme, improving the previous known bound of O(m+n). A general consequence of our result is that a shortest path interval routing scheme contains ample structural information to avoid developing ad-hoc or network-specific solutions for basic problems that distributed systems must handle repeatedly. Received: December 2000 / Accepted: July 2001     

面向拜占庭弹性的余度管理方案

综合化航空电子系统是新一代飞机的一个重要特征,其可靠性和稳定性对整个飞机的飞行和安全起着决定性作用.针对航电系统应当具有高可靠性的特点,提出一种分布式集群余度架构,并设计相应的余度管理方法,以容忍航电系统故障后可能出现的拜占庭错误,有效提高容错计算机的可靠性和容错能力.采用门限签名和集群选主两种方案优化提出的余度管理方法,降低集群中余度计算机之间的通信开销,避免影响航电系统的实时性,提高余度管理效率.通过模拟实验进行测试,结果验证了分布式集群余度管理方法可以有效提升航电系统的可靠性,增强拜占庭弹性,实现在n余度的航电系统中只要拜占庭节点数小于n/3,系统仍然能够正确运行,并且优化方案具有更低的通信开销和计算开销.