Communication and Computation in Distributed CSP Algorithms

Abstract

Abstract. We introduce SensorDCSP, a naturally distributed benchmark based on a real-world application that arises in the context of networked distributed systems. In order to study the performance of Distributed CSP (DisCSP) algorithms in a truly distributed setting, we use a discrete-event network simulator, which allows us to model the impact of different network traffic conditions on the performance of the algorithms. We consider two complete DisCSP algorithms: asynchronous backtracking (ABT) and asynchronous weak commitment search (AWC). In our study of different network traffic distributions, we found that, random delays, in some cases combined with a dynamic decentralized restart strategy, can improve the performance of DisCSP algorithms. More interestingly, we also found that the active introduction of message delays by agents can improve performance and robustness, while reducing the overall network load. Finally, our work confirms that AWC performs better than ABT on satisfiable instances. However, on unsatisfiable instances, the performance of AWC is considerably worse than ABT.

A Hybrid Autonomic Computing-Based Approach to Distributed Constraint Satisfaction Problems

“…Motivated by the real distributed resource allocation problem, Fernandez et al [11] proposed the distributed sensor-mobile problem (SensorDCSP). It consists of a set of sensors s 1 ,s 2 ... s n and a set of mobiles m 1 , m 2 ... m q .…”

“…In the solution, the three sensors assigned to each mobile are the sensors that form a triangle where the mobile is inside. This sensor-mobile problem is NP-complete [11] and can be easily reduced to the problem of partitioning a graph into cliques of size three, which is a well-known NP-complete problem [21]. …”

“…Fernandez et al [11] formulated a wireless sensor tracking system as an instance of DisCSP, known as SensorDCSP and profoundly investigated in this exposition. In this study, we use a combination of genetic algorithm (GA) and the ERE algorithm for the SensorDCSP problem to achieve optimum visibility and compatibility between sensors and mobiles.…”

Synchronous, Asynchronous and Hybrid Algorithms for DisCSP

“…This issue was raised first in [5], and subsequently in [21]. Preliminary results show that ABT decreases performance and also ABT-Hyb does, but to a lesser extent.…”

Multi-Target Engagement in Complex Mobile Surveillance Sensor Networks

“…On one hand, distributed constraint optimization has been widely used for modeling various problems, including sensor-to-target allocation ones [3][4][5][6][7][8]. This approach has proven to be both general and efficient, especially, in smallscale problems.…”