Constant-time approximate sliding window framework with error control

Abstract

Stream Processing is a crucial element for the Edge Computing paradigm, in which large amount of devices generate data at the edge of the network. This data needs to be aggregated and processed on-the-move across different layers before reaching the Cloud. Therefore, defining Stream Processing services that adapt to different levels of resource availability is of paramount importance. In this context, Stream Processing frameworks need to combine efficient algorithms with low computational complexity to manage sliding windows, with the ability to adjust resource demands for different deployment scenarios, from very low capacity edge devices to virtually unlimited Cloud platforms. The Approximate Computing paradigm provides improved performance and adaptive resource demands in data analytics, at the price of introducing some level of inaccuracy that can be calculated. In this paper we present the Approximate and Amortized Monoid Tree Aggregator (A 2 MTA). It is, to our knowledge, the first general purpose sliding window programable framework that combines constant-time aggregations with error bounded approximate computing techniques. It is very suitable for adverse stream processing environments, such as resource scarce multi-tenant edge computing. The framework can compute aggregations over multiple data dimensions, setting error bounds on any of them, and has been designed to support decoupling computation and data storage through the use of distributed Key-Value Stores to keep window elements and partial aggregations.