Online Algorithms for Multi-Level Aggregation
Résumé
In the Multi-Level Aggregation Problem (MLAP), requests arrive at
the nodes of an edge-weighted tree T, and have to be served
eventually. A service is defined as a subtree X of T that
contains its root. This subtree X serves all
requests that are pending in the nodes of X, and the cost of this service is
equal to the total weight of X. Each request also incurs waiting cost
between its arrival and service times. The objective is to minimize the total
waiting cost of all requests plus the total cost of all service subtrees.
MLAP is a generalization of some well-studied optimization problems; for
example, for trees of depth 1, MLAP is equivalent to the TCP
Acknowledgment Problem, while for trees of depth 2, it is equivalent to the
Joint Replenishment Problem. Aggregation problem for trees of arbitrary depth
arise in multicasting, sensor networks, communication in organization
hierarchies, and in supply-chain management. The instances of MLAP
associated with these applications are naturally online, in the sense that
aggregation decisions need to be made without information about future
requests.
Constant-competitive online algorithms are known for MLAP with one or two
levels. However, it has been open whether there exist constant competitive
online algorithms for trees of depth more than 2. Addressing this open
problem, we give the first constant competitive online algorithm for networks
of arbitrary (fixed) number of levels. The competitive ratio is $O(D^42^D)$,
where D is the depth of T. The algorithm works for arbitrary waiting
cost functions, including the variant with deadlines.
We include several additional results in the paper. We show that a standard
lower-bound technique for MLAP, based on so-called Single-Phase
instances, cannot give super-constant lower bounds (as a function of the tree
depth). This result is established by giving an online algorithm with optimal
competitive ratio 4 for such instances on arbitrary trees.
We also study the MLAP variant when the tree is a path, for which we give
a lower bound of 4 on the competitive ratio, improving the lower bound known
for general MLAP. We complement this with a matching upper bound for the
deadline setting.