Minimal Network Coding for Multicast

TL;DR

This paper introduces decentralized algorithms for minimal network coding in multicast networks, optimizing packet processing and constructing capacity-achieving codes under routing constraints, thereby enhancing efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

Contribution

It generalizes the fluid flow model for multicasting and presents novel decentralized algorithms for minimizing network coding and constructing capacity-achieving multicast codes.

Findings

Algorithms effectively minimize network coding packets.

Capacity-achieving multicast codes can be constructed with routing restrictions.

The methods integrate with existing decentralized schemes for cost reduction.

Abstract

We give an information flow interpretation for multicasting using network coding. This generalizes the fluid model used to represent flows to a single receiver. Using the generalized model, we present a decentralized algorithm to minimize the number of packets that undergo network coding. We also propose a decentralized algorithm to construct capacity achieving multicast codes when the processing at some nodes is restricted to routing. The proposed algorithms can be coupled with existing decentralized schemes to achieve minimum cost muticast.