Optimal Throughput for Multicast over MANET-Satellite Networks

The convergence of MANET and satellite networks has been considered as one of the potential solutions to provide emergency communication and disaster relief services. However, unreliable MANET and satellite links may influence seriously to data transmission. In this paper, we study the application of packet-level coding for enhancing network throughput for multicast services over integrated MANET-satellite networks. First, we characterize the performance of multicast networks in terms of the probability of packet delivery under different packet-level codes. We then formulate and solve the coding optimization problem for typical values of computational resources at the network nodes given some target probability of successful delivery to the receivers. Finally, several simulation results show significant gains in the average achievable rate at the receivers with respect to routing for representative scenarios with different types of network devices given a strictly-high probability of successful delivery of the multicast networks. Furthermore, the devices with higher computational resources can obtain significantly better throughput gain.