A DeterministicWorst-Case Message Complexity Optimal Solution for Resource Discovery

Abstract

We consider the problem of resource discovery in distributed systems. In particular we give an algorithm, such that each node in a network discovers the address of any other node in the network. We model the knowledge of the nodes as a virtual overlay network given by a directed graph such that complete knowledge of all nodes corresponds to a complete graph in the overlay network. Although there are several solutions for resource discovery, our solution is the first that achieves worst-case optimal work for each node, i.e. the number of addresses (O(n)) or bits (O(n log n)) a node receives or sends coincides with the lower bound, while ensuring only a linear runtime (O(n)) on the number of rounds.