Function Computation in Networks
Name
Janar Jõgi
Abstract
Routing, that uses a single best path in the network, is currently the primary method for information transfer in networks. A proposed alternative to routing is called network coding that allows for the whole network to participate in the transmission of information by sending the coded data using multiple paths and then reconstructing the original message at the receiver. In some applications instead of reconstructing the original messages a function of those messages needs to be obtained. The corresponding problem is called a problem of function computation in the network. This approach allows for efficient en-route computing that works especially well with many small connected devices with limited computational capacities, a situation that appears often with the rise of the IoT. Since network function computation is a relatively new concept, the applicability and theoretical performance limits of this approach are not yet fully understood. The current work focuses on a certain family of target functions and identifies properties a network must have for function computation to be feasible. We propose encoding solutions that allow for successful network function computation. The results are then extended to packets with arbitrary number of symbols using a similar encoding scheme.
Graduation Thesis language
English
Graduation Thesis type
Bachelor - Computer Science
Supervisor(s)
Vitaly Skachek
Defence year
2017