On Random Network Coding for Multicast

TL;DR

This paper investigates the probability of successful decoding in random linear network coding for multicast, providing a new bound that enhances understanding of its reliability in decentralized network scenarios.

Contribution

It introduces a novel bound on decoding success probability, improving theoretical insights into the reliability of random network coding for multicast.

Findings

New bound on decoding success probability

Enhanced understanding of reliability in random network coding

Theoretical results applicable to decentralized multicast networks

Abstract

Random linear network coding is a particularly decentralized approach to the multicast problem. Use of random network codes introduces a non-zero probability however that some sinks will not be able to successfully decode the required sources. One of the main theoretical motivations for random network codes stems from the lower bound on the probability of successful decoding reported by Ho et. al. (2003). This result demonstrates that all sinks in a linearly solvable network can successfully decode all sources provided that the random code field size is large enough. This paper develops a new bound on the probability of successful decoding.