The power of 'random': 'Seemingly loopy' technique could dramatically improve communica... - 0 views
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network coding.
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Most networks right now are built roughly along the same principles as a transportation network, or any other network that’s trying to deliver tangible goods,
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With network coding, however, a router doesn’t just hand off the packets it receives; it mathematically combines them into new, hybrid packets. If the combination is done cleverly enough, this makes the whole network more efficient.
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But if, instead of forwarding our messages, the router combines them and broadcasts the combination, there are only three total transmissions. Since you have a copy of the message you sent me, you can subtract it from the combination, and I can do the same with the message I sent you. If our laptops and the router do a little extra processing, they reduce the system’s bandwidth consumption by 25 percent.
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proved a counterintuitive result: in many cases, the best way to combine data at a router is to do it randomly.
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Random coding yields the biggest gains in networks where connections are spotty, but where there are several possible routes between sender and receiver.
