4,537 research outputs found
Computing in Additive Networks with Bounded-Information Codes
This paper studies the theory of the additive wireless network model, in
which the received signal is abstracted as an addition of the transmitted
signals. Our central observation is that the crucial challenge for computing in
this model is not high contention, as assumed previously, but rather
guaranteeing a bounded amount of \emph{information} in each neighborhood per
round, a property that we show is achievable using a new random coding
technique.
Technically, we provide efficient algorithms for fundamental distributed
tasks in additive networks, such as solving various symmetry breaking problems,
approximating network parameters, and solving an \emph{asymmetry revealing}
problem such as computing a maximal input.
The key method used is a novel random coding technique that allows a node to
successfully decode the received information, as long as it does not contain
too many distinct values. We then design our algorithms to produce a limited
amount of information in each neighborhood in order to leverage our enriched
toolbox for computing in additive networks
Pseudo-Separation for Assessment of Structural Vulnerability of a Network
Based upon the idea that network functionality is impaired if two nodes in a
network are sufficiently separated in terms of a given metric, we introduce two
combinatorial \emph{pseudocut} problems generalizing the classical min-cut and
multi-cut problems. We expect the pseudocut problems will find broad relevance
to the study of network reliability. We comprehensively analyze the
computational complexity of the pseudocut problems and provide three
approximation algorithms for these problems.
Motivated by applications in communication networks with strict
Quality-of-Service (QoS) requirements, we demonstrate the utility of the
pseudocut problems by proposing a targeted vulnerability assessment for the
structure of communication networks using QoS metrics; we perform experimental
evaluations of our proposed approximation algorithms in this context
A digital interface for Gaussian relay and interference networks: Lifting codes from the discrete superposition model
For every Gaussian network, there exists a corresponding deterministic
network called the discrete superposition network. We show that this discrete
superposition network provides a near-optimal digital interface for operating a
class consisting of many Gaussian networks in the sense that any code for the
discrete superposition network can be naturally lifted to a corresponding code
for the Gaussian network, while achieving a rate that is no more than a
constant number of bits lesser than the rate it achieves for the discrete
superposition network. This constant depends only on the number of nodes in the
network and not on the channel gains or SNR. Moreover the capacities of the two
networks are within a constant of each other, again independent of channel
gains and SNR. We show that the class of Gaussian networks for which this
interface property holds includes relay networks with a single
source-destination pair, interference networks, multicast networks, and the
counterparts of these networks with multiple transmit and receive antennas.
The code for the Gaussian relay network can be obtained from any code for the
discrete superposition network simply by pruning it. This lifting scheme
establishes that the superposition model can indeed potentially serve as a
strong surrogate for designing codes for Gaussian relay networks.
We present similar results for the K x K Gaussian interference network, MIMO
Gaussian interference networks, MIMO Gaussian relay networks, and multicast
networks, with the constant gap depending additionally on the number of
antennas in case of MIMO networks.Comment: Final versio
Monte Carlo optimization of decentralized estimation networks over directed acyclic graphs under communication constraints
Motivated by the vision of sensor networks, we consider decentralized estimation networks over bandwidth–limited communication links, and are particularly interested in the tradeoff between the estimation accuracy and the cost of communications due to, e.g., energy consumption. We employ a class of in–network processing strategies that admits directed acyclic graph representations and yields a tractable Bayesian risk that comprises the cost of communications and estimation error penalty. This perspective captures a broad range of possibilities for processing under network constraints and enables a rigorous design problem in the form of constrained optimization. A similar scheme and the structures exhibited by the solutions have been previously studied in the context of decentralized detection. Under reasonable assumptions, the optimization can be carried out in a message passing fashion. We adopt
this framework for estimation, however, the corresponding optimization scheme involves integral operators that cannot be evaluated exactly in general. We develop an approximation framework using Monte Carlo methods and obtain
particle representations and approximate computational schemes for both the in–network processing strategies and their optimization. The proposed Monte Carlo optimization procedure operates in a scalable and efficient fashion and,
owing to the non-parametric nature, can produce results for any distributions provided that samples can be produced from the marginals. In addition, this approach exhibits graceful degradation of the estimation accuracy asymptotically
as the communication becomes more costly, through a parameterized Bayesian risk
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