Generalized Lagrange Coded Computing: A Flexible Computation-Communication Tradeoff

We consider the problem of evaluating arbitrary multivariate polynomials over a massive dataset, in a distributed computing system with a master node and multiple worker nodes. Generalized Lagrange Coded Computing (GLCC) codes are proposed to provide robustness against stragglers who do not return computation results in time, adversarial workers who deliberately modify results for their benefit, and information-theoretic security of the dataset amidst possible collusion of workers. GLCC codes are constructed by first partitioning the dataset into multiple groups, and then encoding the dataset using carefully designed interpolation polynomials, such that interference computation results across groups can be eliminated at the master. Particularly, GLCC codes include the state-of-the-art Lagrange Coded Computing (LCC) codes as a special case, and achieve a more flexible tradeoff between communication and computation overheads in optimizing system efficiency.