arXiv subjects

Ran Xin

Publications and source records attributed to Ran Xin.

27 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2019

Distributed stochastic optimization with gradient tracking over strongly-connected networks

In this paper, we study distributed stochastic optimization to minimize a sum of smooth and strongly-convex local cost functions over a network of agents, communicating over a strongly-connected graph. Assuming that each agent has access to a stochastic first-order oracle ($\mathcal{SFO}$), we propose a novel distributed method, called $\mathcal{S}$-$\mathcal{AB}$, where each agent uses an auxiliary variable to asymptotically track the gradient of the global cost in expectation. The $\mathcal{S}$-$\mathcal{AB}$ algorithm employs row- and column-stochastic weights simultaneously to ensure both consensus and optimality. Since doubly-stochastic weights are not used, $\mathcal{S}$-$\mathcal{AB}$ is applicable to arbitrary strongly-connected graphs. We show that under a sufficiently small constant step-size, $\mathcal{S}$-$\mathcal{AB}$ converges linearly (in expected mean-square sense) to a neighborhood of the global minimizer. We present numerical simulations based on real-world data sets to illustrate the theoretical results.

cs.LG↗

arXiv2019

Distributed Nesterov gradient methods over arbitrary graphs

In this letter, we introduce a distributed Nesterov method, termed as $\mathcal{ABN}$, that does not require doubly-stochastic weight matrices. Instead, the implementation is based on a simultaneous application of both row- and column-stochastic weights that makes this method applicable to arbitrary (strongly-connected) graphs. Since constructing column-stochastic weights needs additional information (the number of outgoing neighbors at each agent), not available in certain communication protocols, we derive a variation, termed as FROZEN, that only requires row-stochastic weights but at the expense of additional iterations for eigenvector learning. We numerically study these algorithms for various objective functions and network parameters and show that the proposed distributed Nesterov methods achieve acceleration compared to the current state-of-the-art methods for distributed optimization.

cs.LG↗

arXiv2018

FROST -- Fast row-stochastic optimization with uncoordinated step-sizes

In this paper, we discuss distributed optimization over directed graphs, where doubly-stochastic weights cannot be constructed. Most of the existing algorithms overcome this issue by applying push-sum consensus, which utilizes column-stochastic weights. The formulation of column-stochastic weights requires each agent to know (at least) its out-degree, which may be impractical in e.g., broadcast-based communication protocols. In contrast, we describe FROST (Fast Row-stochastic-Optimization with uncoordinated STep-sizes), an optimization algorithm applicable to directed graphs that does not require the knowledge of out-degrees; the implementation of which is straightforward as each agent locally assigns weights to the incoming information and locally chooses a suitable step-size. We show that FROST converges linearly to the optimal solution for smooth and strongly-convex functions given that the largest step-size is positive and sufficiently small.

math.OC↗

arXiv2018

Optimization over time-varying directed graphs with row and column-stochastic matrices

In this paper, we provide a distributed optimization algorithm, termed as TV-$\mathcal{AB}$, that minimizes a sum of convex functions over time-varying, random directed graphs. Contrary to the existing work, the algorithm we propose does not require eigenvector estimation to estimate the (non-$\mathbf{1}$) Perron eigenvector of a stochastic matrix. Instead, the proposed approach relies on a novel information mixing approach that exploits both row- and column-stochastic weights to achieve agreement towards the optimal solution when the underlying graph is directed. We show that TV-$\mathcal{AB}$ converges linearly to the optimal solution when the global objective is smooth and strongly-convex, and the underlying time-varying graphs exhibit bounded connectivity, i.e., a union of every $C$ consecutive graphs is strongly-connected. We derive the convergence results based on the stability analysis of a linear system of inequalities along with a matrix perturbation argument. Simulations confirm the findings in this paper.

math.OC↗

arXiv2018

Distributed heavy-ball: A generalization and acceleration of first-order methods with gradient tracking

We study distributed optimization to minimize a global objective that is a sum of smooth and strongly-convex local cost functions. Recently, several algorithms over undirected and directed graphs have been proposed that use a gradient tracking method to achieve linear convergence to the global minimizer. However, a connection between these different approaches has been unclear. In this paper, we first show that many of the existing first-order algorithms are in fact related with a simple state transformation, at the heart of which lies the $\mathcal{AB}$ algorithm. We then describe \textit{distributed heavy-ball}, denoted as $\mathcal{AB}m$, i.e., $\mathcal{AB}$ with momentum, that combines gradient tracking with a momentum term and uses nonidentical local step-sizes. By simultaneously implementing both row- and column-stochastic weights, $\mathcal{AB}m$ removes the conservatism in the related work due to doubly-stochastic weights or eigenvector estimation. $\mathcal{AB}m$ thus naturally leads to optimization and average-consensus over both undirected and directed graphs, casting a unifying framework over several well-known consensus algorithms over arbitrary strongly-connected graphs. We show that $\mathcal{AB}m$ has a global $R$-linear rate when the largest step-size is positive and sufficiently small. Following the standard practice in the heavy-ball literature, we numerically show that $\mathcal{AB}m$ achieves accelerated convergence especially when the objective function is ill-conditioned.

math.OC↗

arXiv2018

A linear algorithm for optimization over directed graphs with geometric convergence

In this letter, we study distributed optimization, where a network of agents, abstracted as a directed graph, collaborates to minimize the average of locally-known convex functions. Most of the existing approaches over directed graphs are based on push-sum (type) techniques, which use an independent algorithm to asymptotically learn either the left or right eigenvector of the underlying weight matrices. This strategy causes additional computation, communication, and nonlinearity in the algorithm. In contrast, we propose a linear algorithm based on an inexact gradient method and a gradient estimation technique. Under the assumptions that each local function is strongly-convex with Lipschitz-continuous gradients, we show that the proposed algorithm geometrically converges to the global minimizer with a sufficiently small step-size. We present simulations to illustrate the theoretical findings.

math.OC↗

arXiv2017

Linear convergence in optimization over directed graphs with row-stochastic matrices

This paper considers a distributed optimization problem over a multi-agent network, in which the objective function is a sum of individual cost functions at the agents. We focus on the case when communication between the agents is described by a \emph{directed} graph. Existing distributed optimization algorithms for directed graphs require at least the knowledge of the neighbors' out-degree at each agent (due to the requirement of column-stochastic matrices). In contrast, our algorithm requires no such knowledge. Moreover, the proposed algorithm achieves the best known rate of convergence for this class of problems, $O(μ^k)$ for $0<μ<1$, where $k$ is the number of iterations, given that the objective functions are strongly-convex and have Lipschitz-continuous gradients. Numerical experiments are also provided to illustrate the theoretical findings.

math.OC↗

arXiv2017

ADD-OPT: Accelerated Distributed Directed Optimization

In this paper, we consider distributed optimization problems where the goal is to minimize a sum of objective functions over a multi-agent network. We focus on the case when the inter-agent communication is described by a strongly-connected, \emph{directed} graph. The proposed algorithm, ADD-OPT (Accelerated Distributed Directed Optimization), achieves the best known convergence rate for this class of problems,~$O(μ^{k}),0<μ<1$, given strongly-convex, objective functions with globally Lipschitz-continuous gradients, where~$k$ is the number of iterations. Moreover, ADD-OPT supports a wider and more realistic range of step-sizes in contrast to existing work. In particular, we show that ADD-OPT converges for arbitrarily small (positive) step-sizes. Simulations further illustrate our results.

math.OC↗

arXiv2017

Distributed Subgradient Projection Algorithm over Directed Graphs: Alternate Proof

We propose Directed-Distributed Projected Subgradient (D-DPS) to solve a constrained optimization problem over a multi-agent network, where the goal of agents is to collectively minimize the sum of locally known convex functions. Each agent in the network owns only its local objective function, constrained to a commonly known convex set. We focus on the circumstance when communications between agents are described by a \emph{directed} network. The D-DPS combines surplus consensus to overcome the asymmetry caused by the directed communication network. The analysis shows the convergence rate to be $O(\frac{\ln k}{\sqrt{k}})$.

math.OC↗