A Dynamic Leader Election Algorithm for Decentralized Networks

Leader election algorithms play an important role in orchestrating different processes on distributed systems, including next-generation transportation systems. This leader election phase is usually triggered after the leader has failed and has a high overhead in performance and state recovery. Further, these algorithms are not generally applicable to cloud-based native microservices-based applications where the resources available to the group and resources participating in a group continuously change and the current leader may exit the system with prior knowledge of the exit. Our proposed algorithm, the dynamic leader selection algorithm, provides several benefits through selection (not, election) of a set of future leaders which are then alerted prior to the failure of the current leadership and handed over the leadership. A specific illustration of this algorithm is provided with reference to a peer-to-peer distribution of autonomous cars in a 5G architecture for transportation networks. The proposed algorithm increases the efficiencies of applications that use the leader election algorithm and finds broad applicability in microservices-based applications.