Network coding

TLDR

Network coding is a novel research area that allows intermediate nodes to transmit linear combinations of received packets, potentially improving throughput and providing robust loss resilience. This paper provides an instant primer on network coding, explaining its function and operation. The authors discuss theoretical implications for realistic settings and illustrate how network coding can be applied in practice.

Abstract

Network coding is a new research area that may have interesting applications in practical networking systems. With network coding, intermediate nodes may send out packets that are linear combinations of previously received information. There are two main benefits of this approach: potential throughput improvements and a high degree of robustness. Robustness translates into loss resilience and facilitates the design of simple distributed algorithms that perform well, even if decisions are based only on partial information. This paper is an instant primer on network coding: we explain what network coding does and how it does it. We also discuss the implications of theoretical results on network coding for realistic settings and show how network coding can be used in practice