Data Dissemination in Wireless Networks with Network Coding

TL;DR

This paper analyzes the efficiency of network coding for information dissemination in wireless networks, providing bounds on dissemination time and validating results through simulations.

Contribution

It offers a new analysis of dissemination time bounds in wireless networks using network coding, including a relation to network size and reception probabilities.

Findings

Dissemination time is between O(N) and O(N^2) for N nodes.

Dissemination latency depends on node reception probabilities.

Simulation results confirm theoretical bounds.

Abstract

We investigate the use of network coding for information dissemination over a wireless network. Using network coding allows for a simple, distributed and robust algorithm where nodes do not need any information from their neighbors. In this paper, we analyze the time needed to diffuse information throughout a network when network coding is implemented at all nodes. We then provide an upper bound for the dissemination time for ad-hoc networks with general topology. Moreover, we derive a relation between dissemination time and the size of the wireless network. It is shown that for a wireless network with N nodes, the dissemination latency is between O(N) and O(N^2), depending on the reception probabilities of the nodes. These observations are validated by the simulation results.