What Is the Minimum Number of Random Bits Required for Computability and Efficiency in Anonymous Networks?

Angluin (STOC'80) and Yamashita and Kameda (PODC'88) show that some useful distributed tasks are impossible (for deterministic algorithms) in a general network if nodes do not possess unique identifiers. However, any task decidable in the non-distributed context, can be solved deterministically if the network has a unique leader. Alternatively, much research has been devoted to randomized distributed algorithms in anonymous networks. We present tight upper and lower bounds for the fundamental question: How much randomness is necessary and sufficient to solve Leader Election (LE) in anonymous networks, i.e., to transform an anonymous network into a non-anonymous one? We prove that at least one random bit per node is required in some cases. Surprisingly, a single random bit is also enough, for a total of n bits, where n is the number of nodes. However, the time complexity of our (total of) n random bits algorithm for general networks turned out to be impractically high. Hence, we also developed time-efficient algorithms for the very symmetric graphs of cliques and cycles, paying only an additional cost of o(n) random bits. The primary steps of our algorithms are of independent interest. At first glance, it seems that using one random bit per node, any algorithm can distinguish only two sets of nodes: those with 0 and those with 1. Our algorithms manage to partition the nodes into more than two sets with high probability. In some sense, they perform the task of a "distributed pseudorandom generator", for example, one of our algorithms turns n bits, one per node, into n unique (with high probability) numbers. Even though a complete graph looks very symmetric, the algorithms explore interesting asymmetries inherent in any n permutations (of n values each), if each describes the assignment (by the adversary) of ports in a node to edges leading to neighbors. Finally, we show how to transform any randomized algorithm that generates xn + o(n) random bits in total to one where each node generates at most x + 1 bits. Our results apply to both synchronous and asynchronous networks.