Enhanced Federated Optimization: Adaptive Unbiased Sampling with Reduced Variance

TMLR Paper2450 Authors

01 Apr 2024 (modified: 17 Sept 2024)Rejected by TMLREveryoneRevisionsBibTeXCC BY 4.0
Abstract: Federated Learning (FL) is a distributed learning paradigm to train a global model across multiple devices without collecting local data. In FL, a server typically selects a subset of clients for each training round to optimize resource usage. Central to this process is the technique of unbiased client sampling, which ensures a representative selection of clients. Current methods primarily utilize a random sampling procedure which, despite its effectiveness, achieves suboptimal efficiency owing to the loose upper bound caused by the sampling variance. In this work, by adopting an independent sampling procedure, we propose a federated optimization framework focused on adaptive unbiased client sampling, improving the convergence rate via an online variance reduction strategy. In particular, we present the first adaptive client sampler, K-Vib, employing an independent sampling procedure. K-Vib achieves a linear speed-up on the regret bound $\tilde{\mathcal{O}}\big(N^{\frac{1}{3}}T^{\frac{2}{3}}/K^{\frac{4}{3}}\big)$ within a set communication budget $K$. Empirical studies indicate that K-Vib doubles the speed compared to baseline algorithms, demonstrating significant potential in federated optimization.
Submission Length: Regular submission (no more than 12 pages of main content)
Assigned Action Editor: ~Sebastian_U_Stich1
Submission Number: 2450
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