8,835 research outputs found

    Configuration Management of Distributed Systems over Unreliable and Hostile Networks

    Get PDF
    Economic incentives of large criminal profits and the threat of legal consequences have pushed criminals to continuously improve their malware, especially command and control channels. This thesis applied concepts from successful malware command and control to explore the survivability and resilience of benign configuration management systems. This work expands on existing stage models of malware life cycle to contribute a new model for identifying malware concepts applicable to benign configuration management. The Hidden Master architecture is a contribution to master-agent network communication. In the Hidden Master architecture, communication between master and agent is asynchronous and can operate trough intermediate nodes. This protects the master secret key, which gives full control of all computers participating in configuration management. Multiple improvements to idempotent configuration were proposed, including the definition of the minimal base resource dependency model, simplified resource revalidation and the use of imperative general purpose language for defining idempotent configuration. Following the constructive research approach, the improvements to configuration management were designed into two prototypes. This allowed validation in laboratory testing, in two case studies and in expert interviews. In laboratory testing, the Hidden Master prototype was more resilient than leading configuration management tools in high load and low memory conditions, and against packet loss and corruption. Only the research prototype was adaptable to a network without stable topology due to the asynchronous nature of the Hidden Master architecture. The main case study used the research prototype in a complex environment to deploy a multi-room, authenticated audiovisual system for a client of an organization deploying the configuration. The case studies indicated that imperative general purpose language can be used for idempotent configuration in real life, for defining new configurations in unexpected situations using the base resources, and abstracting those using standard language features; and that such a system seems easy to learn. Potential business benefits were identified and evaluated using individual semistructured expert interviews. Respondents agreed that the models and the Hidden Master architecture could reduce costs and risks, improve developer productivity and allow faster time-to-market. Protection of master secret keys and the reduced need for incident response were seen as key drivers for improved security. Low-cost geographic scaling and leveraging file serving capabilities of commodity servers were seen to improve scaling and resiliency. Respondents identified jurisdictional legal limitations to encryption and requirements for cloud operator auditing as factors potentially limiting the full use of some concepts

    The Active CryoCubeSat Technology: Active Thermal Control for Small Satellites

    Get PDF
    Modern CubeSats and Small Satellites have advanced in capability to tackle science and technology missions that would usually be reserved for more traditional, large satellites. However, this rapid growth in capability is only possible through the fast-to-production, low-cost, and advanced technology approach used by modern small satellite engineers. Advanced technologies in power generation, energy storage, and high-power density electronics have naturally led to a thermal bottleneck, where CubeSats and Small Satellites can generate more power than they can easily reject. The Active CryoCubeSat (ACCS) is an advanced active thermal control technology (ATC) for Small Satellites and CubeSats, which hopes to help solve this thermal problem. The ACCS technology is based on a two-stage design. An integrated miniature cryocooler forms the first stage, and a single-phase mechanically pumped fluid loop heat exchanger the second. The ACCS leverages advanced 3D manufacturing techniques to integrate the ATC directly into the satellite structure, which helps to improve the performance while simultaneously miniaturizing and simplifying the system. The ACCS system can easily be scaled to mission requirements and can control zonal temperature, bulk thermal rejection, and dynamic heat transfer within a satellite structure. The integrated cryocooler supports cryogenic science payloads such as advanced LWIR electro-optical detectors. The ACCS hopes to enable future advanced CubeSat and Small Satellite missions in earth science, heliophysics, and deep space operations. This dissertation will detail the design, development, and testing of the ACCS system technology

    Machine Learning Applications in Advanced Additive Manufacturing: Process Modeling, Microstructure Analysis, and Defect Detection

    Get PDF
    Non-destructive evaluation (NDE) techniques are critical for assessing the integrity, health, and mechanical properties of materials manufactured from various methods. High fidelity NDE techniques are essential for quality control but often lead to massive data generation. Such a vast data load cannot be manually processed, this leads to a severe bottleneck for process engineers. Machine learning (ML) offers a solution to this problem by providing powerful and adaptable algorithms capable of learning patterns, identifying features, and finding hidden relationships in large sets of data. Various ML models are used in this work to improve predictions, improve measurements, detect anomalies, classify anomalies, segment images, determine material health, and directly model behavior. These neural network or ML models are implemented to perform these tasks by utilizing data gathered through various NDE techniques. Additive manufacturing enables the production of complex geometries and customized parts with reduced waste and lead times. The development of new material printing capability and techniques is necessary to expand its capabilities to produce high performance parts with unique properties and functionality. Contributions to advanced additive manufacturing are made via the application of customized machine learning algorithms in this work. The development of a novel grain image generation method was completed to improve grain and grain boundary image segmentation methods on microstructure images. Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) were also applied to datasets of Stainless Steel Powder to help identify, qualify, and classify the health of the powder prior to print application. A feasibility study of the implementation of Binder Jetting (BJT) is conducted on Martian and Lunar regolith using a simplistic binder in this work. The need for efficient techniques to process data gathered from NDE methods is crucial to enhance the accuracy, efficiency, and speed of the analysis of this data. This will lead to faster development and implementation of advanced manufacturing techniques

    Random graph matching at Otter's threshold via counting chandeliers

    Full text link
    We propose an efficient algorithm for graph matching based on similarity scores constructed from counting a certain family of weighted trees rooted at each vertex. For two Erd\H{o}s-R\'enyi graphs G(n,q)\mathcal{G}(n,q) whose edges are correlated through a latent vertex correspondence, we show that this algorithm correctly matches all but a vanishing fraction of the vertices with high probability, provided that nqnq\to\infty and the edge correlation coefficient ρ\rho satisfies ρ2>α0.338\rho^2>\alpha \approx 0.338, where α\alpha is Otter's tree-counting constant. Moreover, this almost exact matching can be made exact under an extra condition that is information-theoretically necessary. This is the first polynomial-time graph matching algorithm that succeeds at an explicit constant correlation and applies to both sparse and dense graphs. In comparison, previous methods either require ρ=1o(1)\rho=1-o(1) or are restricted to sparse graphs. The crux of the algorithm is a carefully curated family of rooted trees called chandeliers, which allows effective extraction of the graph correlation from the counts of the same tree while suppressing the undesirable correlation between those of different trees

    Parallelization techniques for quantum simulation of fermionic systems

    Get PDF
    Mapping fermionic operators to qubit operators is an essential step for simulating fermionic systems on a quantum computer. We investigate how the choice of such a mapping interacts with the underlying qubit connectivity of the quantum processor to enable (or impede) parallelization of the resulting Hamiltonian-simulation algorithm. It is shown that this problem can be mapped to a path coloring problem on a graph constructed from the particular choice of encoding fermions onto qubits and the fermionic interactions onto paths. The basic version of this problem is called the weak coloring problem. Taking into account the fine-grained details of the mapping yields what is called the strong coloring problem, which leads to improved parallelization performance. A variety of illustrative analytical and numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the amount of improvement for both weak and strong coloring-based parallelizations. Our results are particularly important for implementation on near-term quantum processors where minimizing circuit depth is necessary for algorithmic feasibility

    Modeling and design of heterogeneous hierarchical bioinspired spider web structures using generative deep learning and additive manufacturing

    Full text link
    Spider webs are incredible biological structures, comprising thin but strong silk filament and arranged into complex hierarchical architectures with striking mechanical properties (e.g., lightweight but high strength, achieving diverse mechanical responses). While simple 2D orb webs can easily be mimicked, the modeling and synthesis of 3D-based web structures remain challenging, partly due to the rich set of design features. Here we provide a detailed analysis of the heterogenous graph structures of spider webs, and use deep learning as a way to model and then synthesize artificial, bio-inspired 3D web structures. The generative AI models are conditioned based on key geometric parameters (including average edge length, number of nodes, average node degree, and others). To identify graph construction principles, we use inductive representation sampling of large experimentally determined spider web graphs, to yield a dataset that is used to train three conditional generative models: 1) An analog diffusion model inspired by nonequilibrium thermodynamics, with sparse neighbor representation, 2) a discrete diffusion model with full neighbor representation, and 3) an autoregressive transformer architecture with full neighbor representation. All three models are scalable, produce complex, de novo bio-inspired spider web mimics, and successfully construct graphs that meet the design objectives. We further propose algorithm that assembles web samples produced by the generative models into larger-scale structures based on a series of geometric design targets, including helical and parametric shapes, mimicking, and extending natural design principles towards integration with diverging engineering objectives. Several webs are manufactured using 3D printing and tested to assess mechanical properties

    Efficient Distributed Decomposition and Routing Algorithms in Minor-Free Networks and Their Applications

    Full text link
    In the LOCAL model, low-diameter decomposition is a useful tool in designing algorithms, as it allows us to shift from the general graph setting to the low-diameter graph setting, where brute-force information gathering can be done efficiently. Recently, Chang and Su [PODC 2022] showed that any high-conductance network excluding a fixed minor contains a high-degree vertex, so the entire graph topology can be gathered to one vertex efficiently in the CONGEST model using expander routing. Therefore, in networks excluding a fixed minor, many problems that can be solved efficiently in LOCAL via low-diameter decomposition can also be solved efficiently in CONGEST via expander decomposition. In this work, we show improved decomposition and routing algorithms for networks excluding a fixed minor in the CONGEST model. Our algorithms cost poly(logn,1/ϵ)\text{poly}(\log n, 1/\epsilon) rounds deterministically. For bounded-degree graphs, our algorithms finish in O(ϵ1logn)+ϵO(1)O(\epsilon^{-1}\log n) + \epsilon^{-O(1)} rounds. Our algorithms have a wide range of applications, including the following results in CONGEST. 1. A (1ϵ)(1-\epsilon)-approximate maximum independent set in a network excluding a fixed minor can be computed deterministically in O(ϵ1logn)+ϵO(1)O(\epsilon^{-1}\log^\ast n) + \epsilon^{-O(1)} rounds, nearly matching the Ω(ϵ1logn)\Omega(\epsilon^{-1}\log^\ast n) lower bound of Lenzen and Wattenhofer [DISC 2008]. 2. Property testing of any additive minor-closed property can be done deterministically in O(logn)O(\log n) rounds if ϵ\epsilon is a constant or O(ϵ1logn)+ϵO(1)O(\epsilon^{-1}\log n) + \epsilon^{-O(1)} rounds if the maximum degree Δ\Delta is a constant, nearly matching the Ω(ϵ1logn)\Omega(\epsilon^{-1}\log n) lower bound of Levi, Medina, and Ron [PODC 2018].Comment: To appear in PODC 202

    Exactly soluble models in many-body physics

    Get PDF
    Almost all phenomena in the universe are described, at the fundamental level, by quantum manybody models. In general, however, a complete understanding of large systems with many degrees of freedom is impossible. While in general many-body quantum systems are intractable, there are special cases for which there are techniques that allow for an exact solution. Exactly soluble models are interesting because they are soluble; beyond this, they can be used to gain intuition for further reaching many-body systems, including when they can be leveraged to help with numerical approximations for general models. The work presented in this thesis considers exactly soluble models of quantum many-body systems. The first part of this thesis extends the family of many-body spin models for which we can find a freefermion solution. A solution method that was developed for a specific free-fermion model is generalized in such a way that allows application to a broader class of many-body spin system than was previously known to be free. Models which admit a solution via this method are characterized by a graph theory invariants: in brief it is shown that a quantum spin system has an exact description via non-interacting fermions if its frustration graph is claw-free and contains a simplicial clique. The second part of this thesis gives an explicit example of how the usefulness of exactly soluble models can extend beyond the solution itself. This chapter pertains to the calculation of the topological entanglement entropy in topologically ordered loop-gas states. Topological entanglement entropy gives an understanding of how correlations may extend throughout a system. In this chapter the topological entanglement entropy of two- and three-dimensional loop-gas states is calculated in the bulk and at the boundary. We obtain a closed form expression for the topological entanglement in terms of the anyonic theory that the models support

    Exponential Qubit Reduction in Optimization for Financial Transaction Settlement

    Full text link
    We extend the qubit-efficient encoding presented in [Tan et al., Quantum 5, 454 (2021)] and apply it to instances of the financial transaction settlement problem constructed from data provided by a regulated financial exchange. Our methods are directly applicable to any QUBO problem with linear inequality constraints. Our extension of previously proposed methods consists of a simplification in varying the number of qubits used to encode correlations as well as a new class of variational circuits which incorporate symmetries, thereby reducing sampling overhead, improving numerical stability and recovering the expression of the cost objective as a Hermitian observable. We also propose optimality-preserving methods to reduce variance in real-world data and substitute continuous slack variables. We benchmark our methods against standard QAOA for problems consisting of 16 transactions and obtain competitive results. Our newly proposed variational ansatz performs best overall. We demonstrate tackling problems with 128 transactions on real quantum hardware, exceeding previous results bounded by NISQ hardware by almost two orders of magnitude.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figure
    corecore