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arXiv · 1808.07576

Cooperative SGD: A unified Framework for the Design and Analysis of Communication-Efficient SGD Algorithms

Jianyu Wang·Gauri Joshi
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Abstract

Communication-efficient SGD algorithms, which allow nodes to perform local updates and periodically synchronize local models, are highly effective in improving the speed and scalability of distributed SGD. However, a rigorous convergence analysis and comparative study of different communication-reduction strategies remains a largely open problem. This paper presents a unified framework called Cooperative SGD that subsumes existing communication-efficient SGD algorithms such as periodic-averaging, elastic-averaging and decentralized SGD. By analyzing Cooperative SGD, we provide novel convergence guarantees for existing algorithms. Moreover, this framework enables us to design new communication-efficient SGD algorithms that strike the best balance between reducing communication overhead and achieving fast error convergence with low error floor.

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Jianyu Wang, Gauri Joshi. 2018-08-22. Cooperative SGD: A unified Framework for the Design and Analysis of Communication-Efficient SGD Algorithms. https://arxiv.org/abs/1808.07576

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