# FedSym: Unleashing the Power of Entropy for Benchmarking the Algorithms for Federated Learning

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2310.07807 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.07807/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 29 of its 54 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 11 Oct 2023.

## Builds on (most cited first, 29 of 29)

- [Communication-Efficient Learning of Deep Networks from Decentralized Data](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1602.05629/) (2016)
- [Advances and Open Problems in Federated Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1912.04977/) (2019)
- [Federated Optimization in Heterogeneous Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1812.06127/) (2018)
- [Federated Learning: Strategies for Improving Communication Efficiency](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1610.05492/) (2016)
- [Federated Learning with Non-IID Data](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1806.00582/) (2018)
- [Adaptive Federated Optimization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2003.00295/) (2020)
- [Tackling the Objective Inconsistency Problem in Heterogeneous Federated Optimization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2007.07481/) (2020)
- [Measuring the Effects of Non-Identical Data Distribution for Federated Visual Classification](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1909.06335/) (2019)
- [Ensemble Distillation for Robust Model Fusion in Federated Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2006.07242/) (2020)
- [Federated Learning on Non-IID Data Silos: An Experimental Study](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2102.02079/) (2021)
- [Federated Learning with Matched Averaging](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2002.06440/) (2020)
- [Federated Learning Based on Dynamic Regularization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2111.04263/) (2021)
- [Differentially Private Federated Learning: A Client Level Perspective](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1712.07557/) (2017)
- [Bayesian Nonparametric Federated Learning of Neural Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1905.12022/) (2019)
- [Federated Learning on Non-IID Data: A Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2106.06843/) (2021)
- [Robust Aggregation for Federated Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1912.13445/) (2019)
- [Personalized Cross-Silo Federated Learning on Non-IID Data](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2007.03797/) (2020)
- [No Fear of Heterogeneity: Classifier Calibration for Federated Learning with Non-IID Data](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2106.05001/) (2021)
- [FedDC: Federated Learning with Non-IID Data via Local Drift Decoupling and Correction](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2203.11751/) (2022)
- [The Discrete Gaussian for Differential Privacy](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2004.00010/) (2020)
- [Multi-Center Federated Learning: Clients Clustering for Better Personalization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2108.08647/) (2021)
- [Rethinking Architecture Design for Tackling Data Heterogeneity in Federated Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2106.06047/) (2021)
- [Federated Learning with Label Distribution Skew via Logits Calibration](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2209.00189/) (2022)
- [Clustered Sampling: Low-Variance and Improved Representativity for Clients Selection in Federated Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2105.05883/) (2021)
- [Practical One-Shot Federated Learning for Cross-Silo Setting](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2010.01017/) (2020)
- [LotteryFL: Personalized and Communication-Efficient Federated Learning with Lottery Ticket Hypothesis on Non-IID Datasets](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2008.03371/) (2020)
- [On the Unreasonable Effectiveness of Federated Averaging with Heterogeneous Data](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2206.04723/) (2022)
- [Rethinking Data Heterogeneity in Federated Learning: Introducing a New Notion and Standard Benchmarks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2209.15595/) (2022)
- [FedRAD: Federated Robust Adaptive Distillation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2112.01405/) (2021)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Federated learning (FL) is a decentralized machine learning approach where independent learners process data privately. Its goal is to create a robust and accurate model by aggregating and retraining local models over multiple rounds. However, FL faces challenges regarding data heterogeneity and model aggregation effectiveness. In order to simulate real-world data, researchers use methods for data partitioning that transform a dataset designated for centralized learning into a group of sub-datasets suitable for distributed machine learning with different data heterogeneity. In this paper, we study the currently popular data partitioning techniques and visualize their main disadvantages: the lack of precision in the data diversity, which leads to unreliable heterogeneity indexes, and the inability to incrementally challenge the FL algorithms. To resolve this problem, we propose a method that leverages entropy and symmetry to construct 'the most challenging' and controllable data distributions with gradual difficulty. We introduce a metric to measure data heterogeneity among the learning agents and a transformation technique that divides any dataset into splits with precise data diversity. Through a comparative study, we demonstrate the superiority of our method over existing FL data partitioning approaches, showcasing its potential to challenge model aggregation algorithms. Experimental results indicate that our approach gradually challenges the FL strategies, and the models trained on FedSym distributions are more distinct.