On improving the performance of cache invalidation in mobile environments

Many cache management schemes designed for mobile environments are based on invalidation reports (IRs). However, IR-based approach suffers from long query latency and it cannot efficiently utilize the broadcast bandwidth. In this paper, we propose techniques to address these problems. First, by replicating a small fraction of the essential information related to cache invalidation, the query latency can be reduced, Then, we propose techniques to efficiently utilize the broadcast bandwidth based on counters associated with each data item. Novel techniques are designed to maintain the accuracy of the counter in case of server failures, client failures, and disconnections. Extensive simulations are provided and used to evaluate the proposed methodology. Compared to previous IR-based algorithms, the proposed solution can significantly reduce the query latency, improve the bandwidth utilization, and effectively deal with disconnections and failures.