Skip to main content
Log in

An efficient software implementation of a forward error correcting code

Telecommunication Systems Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Today, Forward Error Correcting (FEC) codes are mainly implemented in hardware, and many believe that their complexity prohibits their software implementation. This paper presents in detail how the performances of a software implementantion can be significantly improved. Different levels of optimization which are independent of the working environment are presented and discussed. The coding throughput of 100 Mbps on an UltraSparc 1 shows that FEC codes can be easily added to multimedia applications without requiring dedicated hardware support. As a case study, we use FEC codes to protect AAL5-PDUs from cell losses in ATM networks.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. M. de Prycker, Asynchronous transfer mode, solution for broadband ISDN, Ellis Horwood Series in Computer Communications and Networking (1993).

  2. ITU-T Recommendation I.363, Integrated services digital network (ISDN), overall networks aspects and functions, B-ISDN ATM adaptation layer (AAL) specification (1993).

  3. ATM Forum, Traffic Management 4.0, ATM Forum Specification af-tm-0056.000 (1996).

  4. J.-R. Louvion and B. Piller, Performance measurements and traffic characterization on the ATM pilot network, European Transactions on Telecommunications 7(5) (1996).

  5. H. Imai, Essentials of Error-Control Coding Techniques(Academic Press, Harcourt Brace Jovanovitch Publishers, 1990).

  6. D. Feldmeier, Fast software implementation of detection codes, IEEE/ACM Transactions on Networking 1(6) (1995).

  7. J.-C. Henrion, Evaluation du débit maximum d'algorithmes FEC dans un environnement ATM, University of Liège, Institut Montefiore (June 1996).

  8. D.D. Clarck and D.L. Tennenhouse, Architectural considerations for a new generation of protocols, in: Proceedings SIGCOMM'90, Philadelphia (September 24–27 1990).

  9. J. Nonnenmacher and E. Biersack, Reliable multicast: where to use FEC, in: Proc.5th International Workshop on Protocols for High-Speed Networks, eds. W. Dabbous and C. Diot (Chapman and Hall, 1997).

  10. C. Huitema, The case for packet level FEC, in: Proc.5th Workshop on Protocols for High-Speed Networks, eds. W. Dabbous and C. Diot (Chapman and Hall, 1997).

  11. A. McAuley, Reliable broadband communication using a burst erasure correcting code (computer communication research group), Presented at ATM SIGCOMM '90, Philadelphia (1990).

  12. L. Rizzo, Effective erasure codes for reliable computer communication protocols, Computer Communication Review 27(2) (1997).

  13. A. Albanese and M. Luby, PET-Priority Encoding Transmission, High-Speed Networking for Multimedia Applications(Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1996).

  14. J.-S. Wu and C.-C. Peng, Simulation study of prioritized forward error correction in ATM networks, Computer Communications 20(10) (1997).

  15. J.-C. Bolot and A. Vega-Garcia, The case for FEC-based error control for packet audio in the Internet, ACM Multimedia Systems (to appear).

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Henrion, JC. An efficient software implementation of a forward error correcting code. Telecommunication Systems 11, 17–30 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1019176730017

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1019176730017

Keywords

Navigation