A new reliable transport scheme in Delay Tolerant Networks based on acknowledgments and random linear coding

We propose a new reliable transport scheme for Delay Tolerant Networks (DTNs) based on the use of acknowledgments (ACKs) as well as coding. We, specifically, develop a fluid-limit model to derive expressions for the delay performance of the proposed reliable transport scheme and derive the optimal setting of the parameters which minimize the file transfer time. Our results yield optimal values for the number of outstanding random linear combinations to be sent before time-out as well as the optimal value of the time-out itself, which, in turn, minimize the file transfer time.