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Free keywords:
Computer Science, Distributed, Parallel, and Cluster Computing, cs.DC
Abstract:
We revisit the approach to Byzantine fault-tolerant clock synchronization
based on approximate agreement introduced by Lynch and Welch. Our contribution
is threefold:
(1) We provide a slightly refined variant of the algorithm yielding improved
bounds on the skew that can be achieved and the sustainable frequency offsets.
(2) We show how to extend the technique to also synchronize clock rates. This
permits less frequent communication without significant loss of precision,
provided that clock rates change sufficiently slowly.
(3) We present a coupling scheme that allows to make these algorithms
self-stabilizing while preserving their high precision. The scheme utilizes a
low-precision, but self-stabilizing algorithm for the purpose of recovery.
