Packet recovery in high-speed networks using coding and buffer management

A technique for fiber-optic networks based on forward-error correction (FEC) that allows the destination to reconstruct missing data packets by using redundant parity packets that the source adds to each block of data packets is presented. Methods for generating several types of parity packets are described, along with decoding techniques and their implementations. Algorithms are presented for packet interleaving and selective rejection of packets from node buffers, both of which disperse missing packets among many blocks, thereby reducing the required coding complexity. Performance evaluation, by both analytic and simulation models, shows that this technique can result in a reduction of up to three orders of magnitude in the packet loss rate