Interactive Consistency via Disjoint Paths and Temporal Offsets
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Solution Overview
Problem
Achieving interactive consistency between nodes in a distributed computer system is costly due to the need for nodes to exchange additional information messages, which is inefficient and resource-intensive.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a method where redundant copies of messages are sent over disjoint communication paths with synchronized local clocks and switches configured to maintain a temporal offset, allowing non-faulty receivers to accept messages in the same order without additional communication, using self-checking pairs and synchronized communication schedules.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If nodes exchange additional information messages to achieve interactive consistency, then consistency reliability is improved, but communication overhead increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the consistency verification function from the application layer and relocates it to the network layer by implementing checksum validation in network switches. This eliminates the need for application-layer information message exchanges, reducing communication overhead while maintaining consistency reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces network switches as intermediaries that perform checksum validation and enforce message ordering. These switches act as mediators that ensure interactive consistency without requiring direct communication between application nodes, thereby reducing the number of messages exchanged.
2Reliability
If redundant message copies are sent over multiple disjoint paths, then fault tolerance is improved, but message delivery complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the communication network into multiple disjoint paths with dedicated network switches for each path. Each switch independently handles checksum validation and message forwarding, simplifying the overall delivery complexity while maintaining fault tolerance through path diversity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of message delivery from single-path to multi-path by implementing checksum-based validation that works across different network paths. The checksum parameter enables consistent verification regardless of which disjoint path the message traverses, managing complexity while improving reliability.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and computer systems for establishing an interactive consistency property between receivers of messages. Messages are transmitted to receivers by a sender over a communication network including disjoint communication paths for connecting receivers and sender. Switches include local clocks. Local clocks of non-faulty switches are synchronized to each other with a maximum error (precision), and receivers detect switch failures. Redundant copies of a message are forwarded by sender to each receiver across different disjoint communication paths. A switch of each disjoint path is configured such that redundant copies are forwarded to each receiver with a temporal distance between disjoint paths. That distance is selected such that all non-faulty receivers receive redundant copies in the same receive order, when the switches and communication links of the disjoint paths exhibit no failure. Each receiver concludes from the receive order whether and which redundant copy to accept to satisfy the interactive consistency property.