Joint Channel-Network Coding Strategies for Networks with Low Complexity Relays

TL;DR

This paper explores joint network and channel coding strategies for networks with low-complexity relays, focusing on decoding at destinations and evaluating different decoding approaches through achievable rates and simulations.

Contribution

It introduces and analyzes three decoding strategies for networks with relay nodes that only perform network coding, not channel coding, including implementation via iteratively decodable codes.

Findings

Joint decoding improves achievable rates compared to separate decoding.

Serial decoding offers a balance between complexity and performance.

Simulations confirm the effectiveness of joint decoding strategies.

Abstract

We investigate joint network and channel coding schemes for networks when relay nodes are not capable of performing channel coding operations. Rather, channel encoding is performed at the source node while channel decoding is done only at the destination nodes. We examine three different decoding strategies: independent network-then-channel decoding, serial network and channel decoding, and joint network and channel decoding. Furthermore, we describe how to implement such joint network and channel decoding using iteratively decodable error correction codes. Using simple networks as a model, we derive achievable rate regions and use simulations to demonstrate the effectiveness of the three decoders.