Abstract: In this work, we study the propagation of influence and computation in dynamic distributed computing systems that are possibly disconnected at every instant. We focus on a synchronous message-passing communication model with broadcast and bidirectional links. Our network dynamicity assumption is a worst-casedynamicity controlled by an adversary scheduler, which has received much attention recently. We replace the usual (in worst-case dynamic networks) assumption that the network is connected at every instant by minimal temporal connectivity conditions. Our conditions only require that another causal influence occurs within every time window of some given length. Based on this basic idea, we define several novel metrics for capturing the speed of information spreading in a dynamic network. We present several results that correlate these metrics. Moreover, we investigate termination criteria in networks in which an upper bound on any of these metrics is known. We exploit our termination criteria to provide efficient (and optimal in some cases) protocols that solve the fundamental counting and all-to-all token dissemination (or gossip) problems.
Abstract: In this chapter, our focus is on computational network analysis from a theoretical point of view. In particular, we study the \emph{propagation of influence and computation in dynamic distributed computing systems}. We focus on a \emph{synchronous message passing} communication model with bidirectional links. Our network dynamicity assumption is a \emph{worst-casedynamicity} controlled by an adversary scheduler, which has received much attention recently. We first study the fundamental \emph{naming} and \emph{counting} problems (and some variations) in
networks that are \emph{anonymous}, \emph{unknown}, and possibly dynamic. Network dynamicity is modeled here by the \emph{1-interval connectivity model}, in which communication is synchronous and a (worst-case) adversary
chooses the edges of every round subject to the condition that each instance is connected. We then replace this quite strong assumption by minimal \emph{temporal connectivity} conditions. These conditions only require that \emph{another causal influence occurs within every time-window of some given length}. Based on this basic idea we define several novel metrics for capturing the speed of information spreading in a dynamic network. We present several results that correlate these metrics. Moreover, we investigate \emph{termination criteria} in networks in which an upper bound on any of these metrics is known. We exploit these termination criteria to provide efficient (and optimal in some cases) protocols that solve the fundamental \emph{counting} and \emph{all-to-all token dissemination} (or \emph{gossip}) problems. Finally, we propose another model of worst-case temporal connectivity, called \emph{local
communication windows}, that assumes a fixed underlying communication network and restricts the adversary to allow communication between local neighborhoods in every time-window of some fixed length. We prove some basic properties and provide a protocol for counting in this model.
Abstract: In this work, we study the fundamental naming and counting problems (and some variations) in networks that are anonymous, unknown, and possibly dynamic. In counting, nodes must determine the size of the network n and in naming they must end up with unique identities. By anonymous we mean that all nodes begin from identical states
apart possibly from a unique leader node and by unknown that nodes
have no a priori knowledge of the network (apart from some minimal
knowledge when necessary) including ignorance of n. Network dynamicity is modeled by the 1-interval connectivity model [KLO10], in which communication is synchronous and a (worst-case) adversary chooses the edges of every round subject to the condition that each instance is connected. We first focus on static networks with broadcast where we prove that, without a leader, counting is impossible to solve and that naming is impossible to solve even with a leader and even if nodes know n. These impossibilities carry over to dynamic networks as well. We also show that a unique leader suffices in order to solve counting in linear time.
Then we focus on dynamic networks with broadcast. We conjecture that
dynamicity renders nontrivial computation impossible. In view of this,
we let the nodes know an upper bound on the maximum degree that will
ever appear and show that in this case the nodes can obtain an upper
bound on n. Finally, we replace broadcast with one-to-each, in which a
node may send a different message to each of its neighbors. Interestingly,
this natural variation is proved to be computationally equivalent to a
full-knowledge model, in which unique names exist and the size of the
network is known.
