We consider communication over a noisy network under randomized linear network coding. Possible error mechanism include node- or link- failures, Byzantine behavior of nodes, or an over-estimate of the network min-cut. Building on the work of Kotter and Kschischang, we introduce a probabilistic model for errors. We compute the capacity of this channel and we define an error-correction scheme based on random sparse graphs and a low-complexity decoding algorithm. By optimizing over the code degree profile, we show that this construction achieves the channel capacity in complexity which is jointly quadratic in the number of coded information bits and sublogarithmic in the error probability.
@cite_14: Store-and-forward had been the predominant technique for transmitting information through a network until its optimality was refuted by network coding theory. Network coding offers a new paradigm for network communications and has generated abundant research interest in information and coding theory, networking, switching, wireless communications, cryptography, computer science, operations research, and matrix theory.
@cite_4: We introduce a new class of problems called network information flow which is inspired by computer network applications. Consider a point-to-point communication network on which a number of information sources are to be multicast to certain sets of destinations. We assume that the information sources are mutually independent. The problem is to characterize the admissible coding rate region. This model subsumes all previously studied models along the same line. We study the problem with one information source, and we have obtained a simple characterization of the admissible coding rate region. Our result can be regarded as the max-flow min-cut theorem for network information flow. Contrary to one's intuition, our work reveals that it is in general not optimal to regard the information to be multicast as a "fluid" which can simply be routed or replicated. Rather, by employing coding at the nodes, which we refer to as network coding, bandwidth can in general be saved. This finding may have significant impact on future design of switching systems.
@cite_10: 
@cite_9: Consider a communication network in which certain source nodes multicast information to other nodes on the network in the multihop fashion where every node can pass on any of its received data to others. We are interested in how fast each node can receive the complete information, or equivalently, what the information rate arriving at each node is. Allowing a node to encode its received data before passing it on, the question involves optimization of the multicast mechanisms at the nodes. Among the simplest coding schemes is linear coding, which regards a block of data as a vector over a certain base field and allows a node to apply a linear transformation to a vector before passing it on. We formulate this multicast problem and prove that linear coding suffices to achieve the optimum, which is the max-flow from the source to each receiving node.
@cite_0: We take a new look at the issue of network capacity. It is shown that network coding is an essential ingredient in achieving the capacity of a network. Building on recent work by (see Proc. 2001 IEEE Int. Symp. Information Theory, p.102), who examined the network capacity of multicast networks, we extend the network coding framework to arbitrary networks and robust networking. For networks which are restricted to using linear network codes, we find necessary and sufficient conditions for the feasibility of any given set of connections over a given network. We also consider the problem of network recovery for nonergodic link failures. For the multicast setup we prove that there exist coding strategies that provide maximally robust networks and that do not require adaptation of the network interior to the failure pattern in question. The results are derived for both delay-free networks and networks with delays.
@cite_5: Network coding is an elegant and novel technique introduced at the turn of the millennium to improve network throughput and performance. It is expected to be a critical technology for networks of the future. This tutorial addresses the first most natural questions one would ask about this new technique: how network coding works and what are its benefits, how network codes are designed and how much it costs to deploy networks implementing such codes, and finally, whether there are methods to deal with cycles and delay that are present in all real networks. A companion issue deals primarily with applications of network coding.
@cite_13: A novel randomized network coding approach for robust, distributed transmission and compression of information in networks is presented, and its advantages over routing-based approaches is demonstrated.
The most common scenario studied in this context is a multi-cast one in which the source aims at communicating the same information to a set of receivers (distinct nodes in the same network.) The fundamental theorem of network coding states that this is possible using network coding (i.e., processing at the nodes) if the values of the min-cuts from the source to any of the receivers is at least @math @cite_4 . Moreover, linear network coding suffices @cite_9 . This means that processing at the nodes can be limited to forwarding packets which are linear (over @math ) combinations of incoming packets. Finally, it is not necessary to choose the local encoding functions at the nodes carefully. Random linear combinations are sufficient with probability close to one, provided the cardinality of the field is large enough @cite_13 @cite_0 . For a general introduction into network coding we refer the reader to @cite_14 @cite_10 @cite_5 .