Ragnar Freij-Hollanti

Private Information Retrieval from Coded Databases with Colluding Servers

We present a general framework for Private Information Retrieval (PIR) from arbitrary coded databases, that allows one to adjust the rate of the scheme according to the suspected number of colluding servers. If the storage code is a generalized Reed-Solomon code of length n and dimension k, we design PIR schemes which simultaneously protect against t colluding servers and provide PIR rate 1-(k+t-1)/n, for all t between 1 and n-k. This interpolates between the previously studied cases of t=1 and k=1 and asymptotically achieves the known capacity bounds in both of these cases, as the size of the database grows.

Private information retrieval schemes for codec data with arbitrary collusion patterns

In Private Information Retrieval (PIR), one wants to download a file from a database without revealing to the database which file is being downloaded. Much attention has been paid to the case of the database being encoded across several servers, subsets of which can collude to attempt to deduce the requested file. With the goal of studying the achievable PIR rates in realistic scenarios, we generalize results for coded data from the case of all subsets of servers of size t colluding, to arbitrary subsets of the servers. We investigate the effectiveness of previous strategies in this new scenario, and present new results in the case where the servers are partitioned into disjoint colluding groups.

Constructions and Properties of Linear Locally Repairable Codes

In this paper, locally repairable codes with all-symbol locality are studied. Methods to modify already existing codes are presented. It is also shown that, with high probability, a random matrix with a few extra columns guaranteeing the locality property is a generator matrix for a locally repairable code with a good minimum distance. The proof of the result provides a constructive method to find locally repairable codes. Finally, constructions of three infinite classes of optimal vector-linear locally repairable codes over a small alphabet independent of the code size are given.

On the Combinatorics of Locally Repairable Codes via Matroid Theory

This paper provides a link between matroid theory and locally repairable codes (LRCs) that are either linear or more generally almost affine. Using this link, new results on both LRCs and matroid theory are derived. The parameters (n, k, d, r, δ) of LRCs are generalized to matroids, and the matroid analog of the generalized singleton bound by Gopalan et al. for linear LRCs is given for matroids. It is shown that the given bound is not tight for certain classes of parameters, implying a nonexistence result for the corresponding locally repairable almost affine codes that are coined perfect in this paper. Constructions of classes of matroids with a large span of the parameters (n, k, d, r, δ) and the corresponding local repair sets are given. Using these matroid constructions, new LRCs are constructed with prescribed parameters. The existence results on linear LRCs and the nonexistence results on almost affine LRCs given in this paper strengthen the nonexistence and existence results on perfect linear LRCs given by Song et al.

Applications of polymatroid theory to distributed storage systems

In this paper, a link between polymatroid theory and locally repairable codes (LRCs) is established. The codes considered here are completely general in that they are subsets of An, where A is an arbitrary finite set. Three classes of LRCs are considered, both with and without availability, and for both information-symbol and all-symbol locality. The parameters and classes of LRCs are generalized to polymatroids, and a generalized Singelton bound on the parameters for these three classes of polymatroids and LRCs is given. This result generalizes the earlier Singleton-type bounds given for LRCs. Codes achieving these bounds are coined perfect, as opposed to the more common term optimal used earlier, since they might not always exist. Finally, new constructions of perfect linear LRCs are derived from gammoids, which are a special class of matroids. Matroids, for their part, form a subclass of polymatroids and have proven useful in analyzing and constructing linear LRCs.

A connection between locally repairable codes and exact regenerating codes

Typically, locally repairable codes (LRCs) and regenerating codes have been studied independently of each other, and it has not been clear how the parameters of one relate to those of the other. In this paper, a novel connection between locally repairable codes and exact regenerating codes is established. Via this connection, locally repairable codes are interpreted as exact regenerating codes. Further, some of these codes are shown to perform better than time-sharing codes between minimum bandwidth regenerating and minimum storage regenerating codes.

Robust Private Information Retrieval from Coded Systems with Byzantine and Colluding Servers

A private information retrieval (PIR) scheme on coded storage systems with colluding, byzantine, and non-responsive servers is presented. Furthermore, the scheme can also be used for symmetric PIR in the same setting. An explicit scheme using an <tex>

Matroid Theory and Storage Codes: Bounds and Constructions

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t-Private Information Retrieval Schemes Using Transitive Codes

</tex> generalized Reed-Solomon storage code is designed, protecting against t-collusion and handling up to <tex>

Bounds on the maximal minimum distance of linear locally repairable codes

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