Throughput Optimization in Rateless Coded Cooperative Relay Networks

By performing the encoding operation on several message packets, rateless coding in cooperative networks has the potential risk of processing information already available to the receivers. In this paper, the intermediate packet decodability of rateless codes is exploited to mitigate such redundant packet processing at the cooperating nodes. The message packets that are already decoded at the receivers are eliminated from further processing by harnessing the back channel (from receiver to transmitter) for feedback. This reduces the required number of transmissions and optimizes the throughput of the network.