Network Coding Design for Reliable Satellite Communication Services

In this paper, we present a possible way forward to the design of network coding (NC) as a virtual network functionality offered to the communication service designer. Specifically, we propose the integration of NC and Network Function Virtualization (NFV) architectural designs. The integration is realized as a toolbox of NC design domains that the service designer can use for flow engineering. Our proposed design framework combines network protocol-driven design and system modular-driven design approaches. In particular, the adaptive choice of the network codes and its use for a specific service can be optimized depending on the ultimate service intent and underlying network. We work out a complete use case where we design geo-network coding, an application of NC for which coding rate is optimized using databases of geo-location information towards an efficient use of network resources. Our numerical results highlight the benefits of both the proposed NC design framework and the specific application.