Discrete Math Seminar Fall 2008
Introduction to Network Coding
Katie Morrison, UNL; Oct 14
Efficiently transmitting information through a network has become
an area of significant study with the growing prominence of cellular
networks, sensor networks, and peer-to-peer networks as well as a number of
other growing applications. Prior to the invention of network coding by
Ahlswede in 2000, the primary method for passing information within a
network was routing, where each node simply replicates or splits the data
that it receives and then sends the data out toward the intended receiver or
sink. Network coding provides an alternative approach where each node has
the ability to intelligently combine the information coming into it and pass
along this encoded data rather than just a replication of some data it
received. As a result of this coding, it is often possible to pass
significantly more information through a network in a single transmission
than with routing alone. We will provide an overview of the techniques of
network coding and a number of different problems that have been explored
using these tools.