CAREER: Practical Data Synchronization: Minimizing Communication

Trustees Of Boston University, Boston

Investigators

Abstract

Abstract: The ever-increasing sophistication of computerized devices, be they handheld electronic organizers or laptop computers, demands an equally sophisticated means of synchronizing data on these various devices. For example, an appointment schedule modified on a handheld organizer might need to be synchronized with a laptop business machine or a desktop home computer. The limited communication power of these devices, combined with their increasing numbers, means that it is no longer feasible to simply compare all data on the devices and resolve differences. Instead, this research investigates mathematical techniques for summarizing data. By comparing such summaries of their data, devices can resolve differences with surprisingly little communication. More specifically, this investigator studies practical data synchronization techniques that minimize communication complexity, building upon a foundation of recent research connecting these techniques to graph coloring problems and the design of error-control codes. Preliminary results offer practical solutions that require communication dependent only on the number of differences between synchronizing systems and not generally on the overall size of these systems. The research subsists on an attainable educational plan that is based on immersing high school and undergraduate students in properly focused components of the work, supported by collaborating graduate students. Moreover, fruits of the research have and will continue to be integrated innovatively