The paper addresses the challenge of solving synchronization problems in the fully-anonymous shared-memory model, where both processors and memory are anonymous. The authors focus on the fundamental task of snapshot, where each processor must output a set of participating processor identities such that the sets are related by containment.
The key insights are:
The traditional notion of task solvability is not adequate in processor-anonymous models, so the authors adopt the concept of "group solvability" where tasks are defined in terms of groups of processors with the same input.
The authors analyze the "eventual pattern" of the write-scan loop, showing that the stable views of processors form a directed acyclic graph with a unique source. This structure is then leveraged in the snapshot algorithm.
The snapshot algorithm has each processor track its "level" based on the views it reads. Processors with the source view (level N) can safely output their view as the snapshot. This ensures that all output views are related by containment, even though the group solvability definition allows incomparable views within the same group.
Using the snapshot algorithm, the authors also obtain wait-free solutions for adaptive renaming and obstruction-free consensus in the fully-anonymous model.
The paper provides a rigorous formal analysis and proof of correctness for the snapshot algorithm, demonstrating how the structure of stable views can be exploited to solve challenging synchronization problems in the fully-anonymous setting.
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by Giuliano Los... at arxiv.org 05-07-2024
https://arxiv.org/pdf/2405.03573.pdfDeeper Inquiries