We present new distributed algorithms for constructing a Steiner Forest in the CONGEST model. Our deterministic algorithm finds, for any given constant $ε>0$, a $(2+ε)$-approximation in $\tilde{O}(sk+\sqrt{\min(st,n)})$ rounds, where $s$ is the shortest path diameter, $t$ is the number of terminals, $k$ is the number of terminal components in the input, and $n$ is the number of nodes. Our randomized algorithm finds, with high probability, an $O(\log n)$- approximation in time $\tilde{O}(k+\min(s,\sqrt n)+D)$, where $D$ is the unweighted diameter of the network. We also prove a matching lower bound of $\tildeΩ(k+\min(s,\sqrt{n})+D)$ on the running time of any distributed approximation algorithm for the Steiner Forest problem. Previous algorithms were randomized, and obtained either an $O(\log n)$-approximation in $\tilde{O}(sk)$ time, or an $O(1/ε)$-approximation in $\tilde{O}((\sqrt{n}+t)^{1+ε}+D)$ time.
Given an edge-weighted graph and a set of known seed vertices, a network scientist often desires to understand the graph relationships to explain connections between the seed vertices. When the seed set is 3 or larger Steiner minimal tree - min-weight acyclic connected subgraph (of the input graph) that contains all the seed vertices - is an attractive generalization of shortest weighted paths. In general, computing a Steiner minimal tree is NP-hard, but several polynomial-time algorithms have been designed and proven to yield Steiner trees whose total weight is bounded within 2 times the Stei…
The \emph{Steiner tree} problem is one of the fundamental and classical problems in combinatorial optimization. In this paper, we study this problem in the $\mathcal{CONGESTED}$ $\mathcal{CLIQUE}$ model of distributed computing and present two deterministic distributed approximation algorithms for the same. The first algorithm computes a Steiner tree in $\tilde{O}(n^{1/3})$ rounds and $\tilde{O}(n^{7/3})$ messages for a given connected undirected weighted graph of $n$ nodes. Note here that $\tilde{O}(\cdot)$ notation hides polylogarithmic factors in $n$. The second one computes a Steiner tree …
The Prize-Collecting Steiner Tree (PCST) problem is a generalization of the Steiner Tree problem that has applications in network design, content distribution networks, and many more. There are a few centralized approximation algorithms \cite{DB_MG_DS_DW_1993, GW_1995, DJ_MM_SP_2000, AA_MB_MH_2011} for solving the PCST problem. However no distributed algorithm is known that solves PCST with a guaranteed approximation factor. In this work we present an asynchronous distributed $(2 - \frac{1}{n - 1})$-approximation algorithm that constructs a PCST for a given connected undirected graph with non-…
In this paper we design and prove correct a fully dynamic distributed algorithm for maintaining an approximate Steiner tree that connects via a minimum-weight spanning tree a subset of nodes of a network (referred as Steiner members or Steiner group) . Steiner trees are good candidates to efficiently implement communication primitives such as publish/subscribe or multicast, essential building blocks for the new emergent networks (e.g. P2P, sensor or adhoc networks). The cost of the solution returned by our algorithm is at most $\log |S|$ times the cost of an optimal solution, where $S$ is the …
Highly dynamic networks are characterized by frequent changes in the availability of communication links. These networks are often partitioned into several components, which split and merge unpredictably. We present a distributed algorithm that maintains a forest of (as few as possible) spanning trees in such a network, with no restriction on the rate of change. Our algorithm is inspired by high-level graph transformations, which we adapt here in a (synchronous) message passing model for dynamic networks. The resulting algorithm has the following properties: First, every decision is purely loc…
We present an MPI-parallel algorithm for the in-situ visualization of computational data that is built around a distributed linear forest-of-octrees data structure. Such octrees are frequently used in element-based numerical simulations; they store the leaves of the tree that are local in the curent parallel partition. We proceed in three stages. First, we prune all elements whose bounding box is not visible by a parallel top-down traversal, and repartition the remaining ones for load-balancing. Second, we intersect each element with every ray passing its box to derive color and opacity values…
Formulations of graph algorithms using sparse linear algebra have yielded highly scalable distributed algorithms for problems such as connectivity and shortest path computation. We develop the first formulation of the Awerbuch-Shiloach parallel minimum spanning forest (MSF) algorithm using linear algebra primitives. We introduce a multilinear kernel that operates on an adjacency matrix and two vectors. This kernel updates graph vertices by simultaneously using information from both adjacent edges and vertices. In addition, we explore optimizations to accelerate the shortcutting step in the Awe…
In this paper, we formalize design patterns, commonly used in the self-stabilizing area, to obtain general statements regarding both correctness and time complexity guarantees. Precisely, we study a general class of algorithms designed for networks endowed with a sense of direction describing a spanning forest (e.g., a directed tree or a network where a directed spanning tree is available) whose characterization is a simple (i.e., quasi-syntactic) condition. We show that any algorithm of this class is (1) silent and self-stabilizing under the distributed unfair daemon, and (2) has a stabilizat…
As the Internet becomes more virtualized and software-defined, new functionality is introduced in the network core: the distributed resources available in ISP central offices, universal nodes, or datacenter middleboxes can be used to process (e.g., filter, aggregate or duplicate) data. Based on this new networking paradigm, we formulate the Constrained Virtual Steiner Arborescence Problem (CVSAP) which asks for optimal locations to perform In-network processing, in order to jointly minimize processing costs and network traffic while respecting link and node capacities. We prove that CVSAP cann…
This paper studies lower bounds for fundamental optimization problems in the CONGEST model. We show that solving problems exactly in this model can be a hard task, by providing $\tildeΩ(n^2)$ lower bounds for cornerstone problems, such as minimum dominating set (MDS), Hamiltonian path, Steiner tree and max-cut. These are almost tight, since all of these problems can be solved optimally in $O(n^2)$ rounds. Moreover, we show that even in bounded-degree graphs and even in simple graphs with maximum degree 5 and logarithmic diameter, it holds that various tasks, such as finding a maximum independe…
Graph analytics for large scale graphs has gained interest in recent years. Many graph algorithms have been designed for vertex-centric distributed graph processing frameworks to operate on large graphs with 100 M vertices and edges, using commodity clusters and Clouds. Subgraph-centric programming models have shown additional performance benefits than vertex-centric models. But direct mapping of vertex-centric and shared-memory algorithms to subgraph-centric frameworks are either not possible, or lead to inefficient algorithms. In this paper, we present three subgraph-centric distributed grap…
The forest-of-octrees approach to parallel adaptive mesh refinement and coarsening (AMR) has recently been demonstrated in the context of a number of large-scale PDE-based applications. Although linear octrees, which store only leaf octants, have an underlying tree structure by definition, it is not often exploited in previously published mesh-related algorithms. This is because the branches are not explicitly stored, and because the topological relationships in meshes, such as the adjacency between cells, introduce dependencies that do not respect the octree hierarchy. In this work we combine…
The {Congested Clique} is a distributed-computing model for single-hop networks with restricted bandwidth that has been very intensively studied recently. It models a network by an $n$-vertex graph in which any pair of vertices can communicate one with another by transmitting $O(\log n )$ bits in each round. Various problems have been studied in this setting, but for some of them the best-known results are those for general networks. In this paper we devise significantly improved algorithms for various symmetry-breaking problems, such as forests-decompositions, vertex-colorings, and maximal in…
Solving linear programs is often a challenging task in distributed settings. While there are good algorithms for solving packing and covering linear programs in a distributed manner (Kuhn et al.~2006), this is essentially the only class of linear programs for which such an algorithm is known. In this work we provide a distributed algorithm for solving a different class of convex programs which we call "distance-bounded network design convex programs". These can be thought of as relaxations of network design problems in which the connectivity requirement includes a distance constraint (most not…
We address the problem of building and maintaining distributed spanning trees in highly dynamic networks, in which topological events can occur at any time and any rate, and no stable periods can be assumed. In these harsh environments, we strive to preserve some properties such as cycle-freeness or the existence of a root in each tree, in order to make it possible to keep using the trees uninterruptedly (to a possible extent). Our algorithm operates at a coarse-grain level, using atomic pairwise interactions in a way akin to recent population protocol models. The algorithm relies on a perpetu…
