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We show that on every $n$-point HST metric, there is a randomized online algorithm for metrical task systems (MTS) that is $1$-competitive for service costs and $O(\log n)$-competitive for movement costs. In general, these refined…

Data Structures and Algorithms · Computer Science 2020-09-04 Christian Coester , James R. Lee

We study the $k$-server problem in the resource augmentation setting i.e., when the performance of the online algorithm with $k$ servers is compared to the offline optimal solution with $h \leq k$ servers. The problem is very poorly…

Data Structures and Algorithms · Computer Science 2017-04-12 Nikhil Bansal , Marek Eliáš , Łukasz Jeż , Grigorios Koumoutsos

We consider the online $k$-taxi problem, a generalization of the $k$-server problem, in which $k$ servers are located in a metric space. A sequence of requests is revealed one by one, where each request is a pair of two points, representing…

Data Structures and Algorithms · Computer Science 2020-12-07 Niv Buchbinder , Christian Coester , Joseph , Naor

The $k$-server conjecture, first posed by Manasse, McGeoch and Sleator in 1988, states that a $k$-competitive deterministic algorithm for the $k$-server problem exists. It is conjectured that the work function algorithm (WFA) achieves this…

Data Structures and Algorithms · Computer Science 2021-02-23 Christian Coester , Elias Koutsoupias

The $k$-Server Problem covers plenty of resource allocation scenarios, and several variations have been studied extensively for decades. We present a model generalizing the $k$-Server Problem by preferences of the requests, where the…

Data Structures and Algorithms · Computer Science 2022-10-21 Jannik Castenow , Björn Feldkord , Till Knollmann , Manuel Malatyali , Friedhelm Meyer auf der Heide

We consider the generalized $k$-server problem on uniform metrics. We study the power of memoryless algorithms and show tight bounds of $\Theta(k!)$ on their competitive ratio. In particular we show that the \textit{Harmonic Algorithm}…

Data Structures and Algorithms · Computer Science 2020-07-20 Dimitris Christou , Dimitris Fotakis , Grigorios Koumoutsos

We consider a generalization of the fundamental online metrical service systems (MSS) problem where the feasible region can be transformed between requests. In this problem, which we call T-MSS, an algorithm maintains a point in a metric…

Data Structures and Algorithms · Computer Science 2020-09-18 Sébastien Bubeck , Niv Buchbinder , Christian Coester , Mark Sellke

In this paper, we show that there is an O(log k log^2 n)-competitive randomized algorithm for the k-sever problem on any metric space with n points, which improved the previous best competitive ratio O(log^2 k log^3 n log log n) by Nikhil…

Data Structures and Algorithms · Computer Science 2015-10-28 Wenbin Chen

We extend the Mobile Server Problem, introduced in SPAA'17, to a model where k identical mobile resources, here named servers, answer requests appearing at points in the Euclidean space. In order to reduce communication costs, the positions…

Data Structures and Algorithms · Computer Science 2019-07-24 Björn Feldkord , Till Knollmann , Manuel Malatyali , Friedhelm Meyer auf der Heide

We provide simple but surprisingly useful direct product theorems for proving lower bounds on online algorithms with a limited amount of advice about the future. As a consequence, we are able to translate decades of research on randomized…

Data Structures and Algorithms · Computer Science 2016-08-22 Jesper W. Mikkelsen

We study the on-line minimum weighted bipartite matching problem in arbitrary metric spaces. Here, $n$ not necessary disjoint points of a metric space $M$ are given, and are to be matched on-line with $n$ points of $M$ revealed one by one.…

Data Structures and Algorithms · Computer Science 2007-06-06 Béla Csaba , András S. Pluhár

We study the design of computationally efficient randomized algorithms for the $k$-server problem. Existing randomized algorithms with the best known competitive ratios are, on the one hand, inherently implicit and, on the other hand,…

Data Structures and Algorithms · Computer Science 2026-05-05 Christian Coester , Romain Cosson

We consider parametrized versions of metrical task systems and metrical service systems, two fundamental models of online computing, where the constrained parameter is the number of possible distinct requests $m$. Such parametrization…

Data Structures and Algorithms · Computer Science 2019-04-09 Sébastien Bubeck , Yuval Rabani

The deterministic $k$-server conjecture states that there is a $k$-competitive deterministic algorithm for the $k$-server problem for any metric space. We show that the work function algorithm is $3$-competitive for the $3$-server problem…

Data Structures and Algorithms · Computer Science 2022-05-18 Zhiyi Huang , Hanwen Zhang

We consider metrical task systems on tree metrics, and present an $O(\mathrm{depth} \times \log n)$-competitive randomized algorithm based on the mirror descent framework introduced in our prior work on the $k$-server problem. For the…

Data Structures and Algorithms · Computer Science 2020-11-30 Sébastien Bubeck , Michael B. Cohen , James R. Lee , Yin Tat Lee

We study the $k$-server problem with time-windows. In this problem, each request $i$ arrives at some point $v_i$ of an $n$-point metric space at time $b_i$ and comes with a deadline $e_i$. One of the $k$ servers must be moved to $v_i$ at…

Data Structures and Algorithms · Computer Science 2021-11-18 Anupam Gupta , Amit Kumar , Debmalya Panigrahi

We show that the RandomCoordinateCut algorithm gives the optimal competitive ratio for explainable k-medians in l1. The problem of explainable k-medians was introduced by Dasgupta, Frost, Moshkovitz, and Rashtchian in 2020. Several groups…

Data Structures and Algorithms · Computer Science 2023-04-19 Konstantin Makarychev , Liren Shan

We study deterministic online algorithms for the problem of chasing sets of cardinality at most $k$ in a metric space, also known as metrical service systems and equivalent to width-$k$ layered graph traversal. We resolve the 30-year-old…

Data Structures and Algorithms · Computer Science 2026-05-12 Christian Coester , Alexa Tudose

We consider the online $k$-median clustering problem in which $n$ points arrive online and must be irrevocably assigned to a cluster on arrival. As there are lower bound instances that show that an online algorithm cannot achieve a…

Data Structures and Algorithms · Computer Science 2023-03-28 Benjamin Moseley , Heather Newman , Kirk Pruhs

We consider a variant of the online buffer management problem in network switches, called the $k$-frame throughput maximization problem ($k$-FTM). This problem models the situation where a large frame is fragmented into $k$ packets and…

Data Structures and Algorithms · Computer Science 2013-09-23 Jun Kawahara , Koji M. Kobayashi , Shuichi Miyazaki