Hierarchical Agent Networks

Problem Statement

Many agents across edge + cloud form a natural hierarchy: edge agents → edge aggregator → cloud agents → decision maker. How do we structure, route, and aggregate in hierarchies?

Solution Approach

Tree Structure:

                    Decision Maker (cloud)
                           ↓
                    Cloud Aggregator
                    /              \
            Edge Group 1        Edge Group 2
            /   |   \           /   |   \
          Edge1 Edge2 Edge3   Edge4 Edge5 Edge6

Each level aggregates results from children:
- Edge agents: process raw data
- Edge aggregators: summarize local results
- Cloud: apply global reasoning
- Decision maker: final decision

Information Flow:

Bottom-up (aggregation):
Edge1 result → Edge aggregator → Cloud → Decision

Top-down (command):
Decision → Cloud → Edge aggregator → Edge1

Routing:

If query from user at Edge1:
1. Local processing (Edge1)
2. Consult Edge aggregator (aggregate Edge1-3)
3. If needed, escalate to Cloud
4. Cloud consults Decision maker

Result routes back down the tree

When to Use

• Use when natural geographic or functional hierarchy exists
• Use to reduce latency (answer at lowest level possible)
• Use to improve fault tolerance (local failure doesn't affect other groups)

References

• Agent Placement
• Distributed Tracing