Network multicast with network coding [Lecture Notes]

Network coding is a powerful technique introduced at the turn of the millennium, when a simple but far-reaching observation was made that, in communication networks, one can allow intermediate nodes to not only forward but also combine and process the incoming information flows [1]. Today, the field is attracting significant interest from engineers, computer scientists, and mathematicians in both academia and industry, and we are beginning to see first practical applications. In this article, we explain basic ideas, concepts, and power of network coding in a particular traffic scenario of network multicast.