Title
The filter-placement problem and its application to minimizing information multiplicity
Abstract
In many information networks, data items -- such as updates in social networks, news flowing through interconnected RSS feeds and blogs, measurements in sensor networks, route updates in ad-hoc networks -- propagate in an uncoordinated manner: nodes often relay information they receive to neighbors, independent of whether or not these neighbors received the same information from other sources. This uncoordinated data dissemination may result in significant, yet unnecessary communication and processing overheads, ultimately reducing the utility of information networks. To alleviate the negative impacts of this information multiplicity phenomenon, we propose that a subset of nodes (selected at key positions in the network) carry out additional information filtering functionality. Thus, nodes are responsible for the removal (or significant reduction) of the redundant data items relayed through them. We refer to such nodes as filters. We formally define the Filter Placement problem as a combinatorial optimization problem, and study its computational complexity for different types of graphs. We also present polynomial-time approximation algorithms and scalable heuristics for the problem. Our experimental results, which we obtained through extensive simulations on synthetic and real-world information flow networks, suggest that in many settings a relatively small number of filters are fairly effective in removing a large fraction of redundant information.
Year
DOI
Venue
2012
10.14778/2140436.2140439
PVLDB
Keywords
DocType
Volume
real-world information flow network,data item,redundant information,information network,combinatorial optimization problem,additional information,filter placement problem,filter-placement problem,redundant data item,uncoordinated data dissemination,information multiplicity phenomenon
Journal
5
Issue
ISSN
Citations 
5
Proceedings of the VLDB Endowment (PVLDB), Vol. 5, No. 5, pp. 418-429 (2012)
5
PageRank 
References 
Authors
0.56
26
5
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Dóra Erdös1455.03
Vatche Ishakian219518.18
Andrei Lapets37510.53
Evimaria Terzi4158083.54
Azer Bestavros53791764.82