Systems, methods, apparatus and computer program products for highly reliable file delivery using compound and braided FEC encoding and decoding

• US 8,418,034 B2
• Filed: 02/04/2009
• Issued: 04/09/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 02/08/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: KenCast Inc.
• Original Assignee: KenCast Inc.
• Inventors: Fang, Weimin
• Primary Examiner(s): Rizk, Sam
• Application Number:
  US12/365,372
• Publication Number:
  US 20090210773A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,525 Days
• Field of Search: 714/755, 714/776, 370/231, 370/252, 370/535
• US Class Current: 714/776
• CPC Class Codes: H03M 13/05 using block codes, i.e. a predetermined number of check bits joined to a predetermined number of information bits H03M13/2906 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H03M 13/11 using multiple parity bits
• CPC Class Codes: H03M 13/15 Cyclic codes, i.e. cyclic shifts of codewords produce other codewords, e.g. codes defined by a generator polynomial, Bose-Chaudhuri-Hocquenghem [BCH] codes H03M13/17 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H03M 13/2909 Product codes
• CPC Class Codes: H03M 13/2921 wherein error correction coding involves a diagonal direction
• CPC Class Codes: H03M 13/2927 Decoding strategies
• CPC Class Codes: H03M 13/293 with erasure setting
• CPC Class Codes: H03M 13/3746 with iterative decoding
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0041 Arrangements at the transmitter end
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/005 Iterative decoding, including iteration between signal detection and decoding operation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0057 Block codes H04L1/0061, H04L1/0064 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0065 Serial concatenated codes

Abstract

Systems, methods, apparatus and computer program products provide highly reliable file delivery using a combination of packet-level FEC on source data packets which are arranged in matrices, where encoding is performed on both rows and columns or on rows, columns and diagonals.

Claims

1. A method for encoding a source file to be transmitted to a receiver, comprising the steps of:

dividing the source file into a plurality of source packets;

dividing the plurality of source packets into a plurality of groups;

generating a source packet matrix from the plurality of source packets in one of the plurality of groups;

calculating a plurality of Forward Error Correction (FEC) packets for each column of the source packet matrix;

calculating a plurality of FEC packets for each row of the source packet matrix;

calculating a plurality of FEC packets for each diagonal of the source packet matrix; and

transmitting the source packets in the source packet matrix and the plurality of FEC packets for each row, column and diagonal of the source packet matrix.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting further comprises,

adding corresponding header information to each packet;

and

wherein the transmitting further includes transmitting the plurality of rows of the source packet matrix until all of the rows have been transmitted.

3. A computer-readable medium having stored thereon sequences of instructions, the sequences of instructions including instructions which when executed by a computer system cause the computer system to perform:

dividing a source file into a plurality of source packets;

dividing the plurality of source packets into a plurality of groups;

generating a source packet matrix from the plurality of source packets in one of the plurality of groups;

calculating a plurality of Forward Error Correction (FEC) packets for each column of the source packet matrix;

calculating a plurality of FEC packets for each row of the source packet matrix;

calculating a plurality of FEC packets for each diagonal of the source packet matrix; and

transmitting the source packets in the source packet matrix and the plurality of FEC packets for each row, column and diagonal of the source packet matrix.

4. The computer-readable medium according to claim 3, further having stored thereon sequences of instructions which when executed by a computer system cause the computer system to perform:

adding corresponding header information to each packet; and

wherein the transmitting further includes transmitting the plurality of rows of the source packet matrix until all of the rows have been transmitted.

5. An apparatus for encoding a source file to be transmitted to a receiver, comprising:

a processor configured to divide the source file into a plurality of source packets and divide the plurality of source packets into a plurality of groups;

a memory configured to store a source packet matrix including the plurality of source packets in one of the plurality of groups;

an encoder configured to generate a plurality of Forward Error Correction (FEC) packets for each column of the source packet matrix, a plurality of FEC packets for each row of the source packet matrix, and a plurality of FEC packets for each diagonal of the source packet matrix; and

a transmitter configured to transmit the source packet in the source packet matrix and the plurality of FEC packets for each row, column and diagonal of the source packet matrix.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the transmitter is further configured to:

add corresponding header information to each packet; and

transmit the plurality of rows of the source packet matrix until all of the rows have been transmitted.