Optimal Universal Schedules for Discrete Broadcast

We study broadcast systems that distribute a series of data updates to a large number of passive clients. The updates are sent over a broadcast channel in the form of discrete packets. We assume that clients periodically access the channel to obtain the most recent update. Such scenarios arise in many practical applications, such as distribution of traffic information and market updates to mobile wireless devices

Optimal Schedules for Asynchronous Transmission of Discrete Packets

In this paper we study the distribution of dynamic data over a broadcast channel to a large number of passive clients. Clients obtain the information by accessing the channel and listening for the next available packet. This scenario, referred to as packet-based or discrete broadcast, has many practical applications such as the distribution of weather and traffic updates to wireless mobile devices, reconfiguration and reprogramming of wireless sensors and downloading dynamic task information in battlefield networks. The optimal broadcast protocols require a high degree of synchronization between the server and the wireless clients. However, in typical wireless settings such degree of synchronization is difficult to achieve due to the inaccuracy of internal clocks. Moreover, in some settings, such as military applications, synchronized transmission is not desirable due to jamming. The lack of synchronization leads to large delays and excessive power consumption. Accordingly, in this work we focus on the design of optimal broadcast schedules that are robust to clock inaccuracy. We present universal schedules for delivery of up-to-date information with minimum waiting time in asynchronous settings

Optimal Unviersal Schedules for Discrete Broadcast

In this paper we study the scenario in which a server sends dynamic data over a single broadcast channel to a number of passive clients. We consider the data to consist of discrete packets, where each update is sent in a separate packet. On demand, each client listens to the channel in order to obtain the most recent data packet. Such scenarios arise in many practical applications such as the distribution of weather and traffic updates to wireless mobile devices and broadcasting stock price information over the Internet. To satisfy a request, a client must listen to at least one packet from beginning to end. We thus consider the design of a broadcast schedule which minimizes the time that passes between a clients request and the time that it hears a new data packet, i.e., the waiting time of the client. Previous studies have addressed this objective, assuming that client requests are distributed uniformly over time. However, in the general setting, the clients behavior is difficult to predict and might not be known to the server. In this work we consider the design of universal schedules that guarantee a short waiting time for any possible client behavior. We define the model of dynamic broadcasting in the universal setting, and prove various results regarding the waiting time achievable in this framework

Deterministic Communication in Radio Networks

In this paper we improve the deterministic complexity of two fundamental communication primitives in the classical model of ad-hoc radio networks with unknown topology: broadcasting and wake-up. We consider an unknown radio network, in which all nodes have no prior knowledge about network topology, and know only the size of the network $n$, the maximum in-degree of any node $\Delta$, and the eccentricity of the network $D$. For such networks, we first give an algorithm for wake-up, based on the existence of small universal synchronizers. This algorithm runs in $O(\frac{\min\{n, D \Delta\} \log n \log \Delta}{\log\log \Delta})$ time, the fastest known in both directed and undirected networks, improving over the previous best $O(n \log^2n)$-time result across all ranges of parameters, but particularly when maximum in-degree is small. Next, we introduce a new combinatorial framework of block synchronizers and prove the existence of such objects of low size. Using this framework, we design a new deterministic algorithm for the fundamental problem of broadcasting, running in $O(n \log D \log\log\frac{D \Delta}{n})$ time. This is the fastest known algorithm for the problem in directed networks, improving upon the $O(n \log n \log \log n)$-time algorithm of De Marco (2010) and the $O(n \log^2 D)$-time algorithm due to Czumaj and Rytter (2003). It is also the first to come within a log-logarithmic factor of the $\Omega(n \log D)$ lower bound due to Clementi et al.\ (2003). Our results also have direct implications on the fastest \emph{deterministic leader election} and \emph{clock synchronization} algorithms in both directed and undirected radio networks, tasks which are commonly used as building blocks for more complex procedures

Data transmission system and method

A method of transmitting data packets, where randomness is added to the schedule. Universal broadcast schedules using encoding and randomization techniques are also discussed, together with optimal randomized schedules and an approximation algorithm for finding near-optimal schedules

Anti-Jamming Schedules for Wireless Data Broadcast Systems

Modern society is heavily dependent on wireless networks for providing voice and data communications. Wireless data broadcast has recently emerged as an attractive way to disseminate dynamic data to a large number of clients. In data broadcast systems, the server proactively transmits the information on a downlink channel; the clients access the data by listening to the channel. Wireless data broadcast systems can serve a large number of heterogeneous clients, minimizing power consumption as well as protecting the privacy of the clients' locations. The availability and relatively low cost of antennas resulted in a number of potential threats to the integrity of the wireless infrastructure. In particular, the data broadcast systems are vulnerable to jamming, i.e., the use of active signals to prevent data broadcast. The goal of jammers is to cause disruption, resulting in long waiting times and excessive power consumption. In this paper we investigate efficient schedules for wireless data broadcast that perform well in the presence of a jammer. We show that the waiting time of client can be reduced by adding redundancy to the schedule and establish upper and lower bounds on the achievable minimum waiting time under different requirements on the staleness of the transmitted data

Faster deterministic communication in radio networks

In this paper we improve the deterministic complexity of two fundamental communication primitives in the classical model of ad-hoc radio networks with unknown topology: broadcasting and wake-up. We consider an unknown radio network, in which all nodes have no prior knowledge about network topology, and know only the size of the network n, the maximum in-degree of any node Δ, and the eccentricity of the network D. For such networks, we first give an algorithm for wake-up, in both directed and undirected networks, based on the existence of small universal synchronizers. This algorithm runs in O(min{n,DΔ}lognlogΔloglogΔ) time, improving over the previous best O(nlog2n)-time result across all ranges of parameters, but particularly when maximum in-degree is small. Next, we introduce a new combinatorial framework of block synchronizers and prove the existence of such objects of low size. Using this framework, we design a new deterministic algorithm for the fundamental problem of broadcasting, running in O(nlogDloglogDΔn) time. This is the fastest known algorithm for this problems, improving upon the O(nlognloglogn)-time algorithm of De Marco (2010) and the O(nlog2D)-time algorithm due to Czumaj and Rytter (2003), the previous fastest results for directed networks, and is the first to come within a log-logarithmic factor of the Ω(nlogD) lower bound due to Clementi et al. (2003). Our results have also direct implications on the fastest deterministic leader election and clock synchronization algorithms in both directed and undirected radio networks, tasks which are commonly used as building blocks for more complex procedures

Dynamic sharing of a multiple access channel

In this paper we consider the mutual exclusion problem on a multiple access channel. Mutual exclusion is one of the fundamental problems in distributed computing. In the classic version of this problem, n processes perform a concurrent program which occasionally triggers some of them to use shared resources, such as memory, communication channel, device, etc. The goal is to design a distributed algorithm to control entries and exits to/from the shared resource in such a way that in any time there is at most one process accessing it. We consider both the classic and a slightly weaker version of mutual exclusion, called ep-mutual-exclusion, where for each period of a process staying in the critical section the probability that there is some other process in the critical section is at most ep. We show that there are channel settings, where the classic mutual exclusion is not feasible even for randomized algorithms, while ep-mutual-exclusion is. In more relaxed channel settings, we prove an exponential gap between the makespan complexity of the classic mutual exclusion problem and its weaker ep-exclusion version. We also show how to guarantee fairness of mutual exclusion algorithms, i.e., that each process that wants to enter the critical section will eventually succeed