Fulcrum Network Codes

摘要

Fulcrum network codes, which are a network coding framework, achieve three objectives: (i) to reduce the overhead per coded packet to almost 1 bit per source packet; (ii) to operate the network using only low field size operations at intermediate nodes, dramatically reducing complexity in the network; and (iii) to deliver an end-to-end performance that is close to that of a high field size network coding system for high-end receivers while simultaneously catering to low-end ones that can only decode in a lower field size. Sources may encode using a high field size expansion to increase the number of dimensions seen by the network using a linear mapping. Receivers can tradeoff computational effort with network delay, decoding in the high field size, the low field size, or a combination thereof.

主权项

1. In a network having at least a first node and a second node, a method comprising:
receiving a plurality (n) of source packets; encoding the plurality of source packets, using an outer code, to generate a plurality of outer-coded packets and one or more (r) expansion packets, the outer code having a first field size; encoding the outer-coded packets and the expansion packets, using an inner code, to generate a plurality of inner-coded packets, the inner code having a second field size, wherein the second field size is not necessarily equal to the first field size; and transmitting the inner-coded packets from the first node to the second node.