Download PDFNDN Technical Report NDN-0056
by Wentao Shang, Alexander Afanasyev, and Lixia Zhang
Revision 1: March 18, 2018
Distributed dataset synchronization (sync for short) provides an important abstraction for multi-party data-centric communication in the Named Data Networking (NDN) architecture. Several NDN Sync protocols have been developed so far, each made its own design choices to work well under specific network conditions. This paper presents VectorSync, a new realization of the sync protocol that is built upon the lessons learned so far. In VectorSync, the shared dataset state is represented by a version vector, allowing for efficient inconsistency detection and difference reconciliation. Each communicating party maintains a complete view of the active participants through a leader-based group management mechanism, effectively bounding the size of the sync state. Our simulation-based evaluation shows that the VectorSync design improves the efficiency of dataset synchronization compared toChronoSync protocol under a wide range of network conditions and provides efficient group membership management without affecting the synchronization speed.
Note that this report describes VectorSync protocol developed in early 2017. Since then, we have been working on a revised design to make the protocol resilient in face of intermittent connectivity, such as the case in ad hoc mobile scenarios.