Integrating network coding into heterogeneous wireless networks

We investigate the problem of integrating network coding into heterogeneous wireless networks where a number of coding nodes are to be placed among legacy nodes that do not handle network coding operations well. In particular, we seek to understand better the following questions: 1) how many coding nodes are needed, 2) where should the coding nodes be located, and 3) how should the coding nodes interact with other non-coding nodes? To this aim, we apply our previously proposed evolutionary algorithm that operates as a distributed protocol and present quantifiable results through various simulations. We also consider the algorithmpsilas operation in lossy environments and show that the temporally distributed structure of our algorithm offers a significant advantage in overcoming the adverse effect of packet erasures.