On the Performance of Network Coding for Multicast Data Delivery in Large Scale Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

The effort dedicated to the ultimate goal of designing an architectural framework for tactical mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) has long been hindered by the excessive control overhead of routing protocols to maintain a full view of the network topology. This paper explores the viability of adopting network coding as a means of improving reliable data delivery while lowering control overhead in large scale MANETs. Simulation results show that the proposed protocol, Network Coded STORM, achieves in excess of 95% packet delivery ratio and reduces the overall overhead by more than 50% in scalability experiments.