Abstract
We present the first optimal randomized online algorithms for the TCP acknowledgment problem [3] and the Bahncard problem [5]. These problems are well known to be generalizations of the classical online ski-rental problem, however, they appeared to be harder. In this paper we demonstrate that a number of online algorithms which have optimal competitive ratios of e/(e-1) , including these, are fundamentally no more complex than ski rental. Our results also suggest a clear paradigm for solving ski-rental-like problems.
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Karlin, Kenyon & Randall Dynamic TCP Acknowledgment and Other Stories about e/(e - 1) . Algorithmica 36, 209–224 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00453-003-1013-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00453-003-1013-x