An Efficient Retransmission Based on Network Coding with Unicast Flows

TL;DR

This paper proposes a novel approach to unicast network coding that leverages encoded packets stored and reported by receivers to improve retransmission efficiency, supported by theoretical analysis and simulations.

Contribution

It introduces a method where receivers report overheard encoded packets, enabling better coding decisions and a redistribution algorithm to maximize coding opportunities.

Findings

Enhanced retransmission efficiency demonstrated in wheel network simulations.

Theoretical analysis confirms the benefits of using encoded packets in coding decisions.

Proposed redistribution algorithm outperforms traditional methods in maximizing coding opportunities.

Abstract

Recently, network coding technique has emerged as a promising approach that supports reliable transmission over wireless loss channels. In existing protocols where users have no interest in considering the encoded packets they had in coding or decoding operations, this rule is expensive and inef-ficient. This paper studies the impact of encoded packets in the reliable unicast network coding via some theoretical analysis. Using our approach, receivers do not only store the encoded packets they overheard, but also report these information to their neighbors, such that users enable to take account of encoded packets in their coding decisions as well as decoding operations. Moreover, we propose a redistribution algorithm to maximize the coding opportunities, which achieves better retransmission efficiency. Finally, theoretical analysis and simulation results for a wheel network illustrate the improve-ment in retransmissions efficiency due to the encoded packets.