Distributed Learning in Wireless Networks: Recent Progress and Future Challenges
File(s)JSAC_Tutorial_21.pdf (3.16 MB)
Accepted version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The next-generation of wireless networks will enable many machine learning (ML) tools and applications to efficiently analyze various types of data collected by edge devices for inference, autonomy, and decision making purposes. However, due to resource constraints, delay limitations, and privacy challenges, edge devices cannot offload their entire collected datasets to a cloud server for centrally training their ML models or inference purposes. To overcome these challenges, distributed learning and inference techniques have been proposed as a means to enable edge devices to collaboratively train ML models without raw data exchanges, thus reducing the communication overhead and latency as well as improving data privacy. However, deploying distributed learning over wireless networks faces several challenges including the uncertain wireless environment (e.g., dynamic channel and interference), limited wireless resources (e.g., transmit power and radio spectrum), and hardware resources (e.g., computational power). This paper provides a comprehensive study of how distributed learning can be efficiently and effectively deployed over wireless edge networks. We present a detailed overview of several emerging distributed learning paradigms, including federated learning, federated distillation, distributed inference, and multi-agent reinforcement learning. For each learning framework, we first introduce the motivation for deploying it over wireless networks. Then, we present a detailed literature review on the use of communication techniques for its efficient deployment. We then introduce an illustrative example to show how to optimize wireless networks to improve its performance. Finally, we introduce future research opportunities. In a nutshell, this paper provides a holistic set of guidelines on how to deploy a broad range of distributed learning frameworks over real-world wireless communication networks.
Date Issued
2021-12-01
Date Acceptance
2021-10-01
Citation
IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications, 2021, 39 (12), pp.3579-3605
ISSN
0733-8716
Publisher
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Start Page
3579
End Page
3605
Journal / Book Title
IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications
Volume
39
Issue
12
Copyright Statement
© 2021 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.
Sponsor
Commission of the European Communities
Engineering & Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC)
Identifier
http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000720517900005&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=1ba7043ffcc86c417c072aa74d649202
Grant Number
677854
EP/T023600/1
Subjects
Science & Technology
Technology
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
Telecommunications
Engineering
Distance learning
Computer aided instruction
Wireless networks
Training
Data models
Performance evaluation
Measurement
Distributed learning
wireless edge networks
federated learning
federated distillation
distributed inference
multi-agent reinforcement learning
THE-AIR COMPUTATION
STOCHASTIC GRADIENT DESCENT
COMMUNICATION-EFFICIENT
UNCODED TRANSMISSION
POWER-CONTROL
DESIGN
ALLOCATION
6G
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2021-10-06