Distributed Decoding for Coded Distributed Computing

Abstract

In distributed computing, when a large number of helper nodes assist a master node to finish a large task, the main challenge is when some of these helpers straggle. Several coded distributed computing schemes exist that resolve the straggling problem. In these solutions, however, the decoding remains a responsibility of the master node. The complexity of decoding can be significant and increase the execution time considerably. In this work, we propose a multilayer coding strategy that allows some helpers to assist with the decoding. With this multilayer structure, the original decoding is performed by some decoding helpers, and the master only minimally participates in decoding to make every layer reliable. The optimization problem to minimize the overall completion time is also studied and shown to have a simple solution in almost all practical scenarios.