Optimal gradient clock synchronization in dynamic networks

Abstract

We study the problem of clock synchronization in highly dynamic networks, where communication links can appear or disappear at any time. The nodes in the network are equipped with hardware clocks, but the rate of the hardware clocks can vary arbitrarily within specific bounds, and the estimates that nodes can obtain about the clock values of other nodes are inherently inaccurate. Our goal in this setting is to output a logical clock at each node, such that the logical clocks of any two nodes are not too far apart, and nodes that remain close to each other in the network for a long time are better synchronized than distant nodes. This property is called gradient clock synchronization.