On MBR codes with replication

An early paper by Rashmi et al. presented the construction of an (n, k, d = n - 1) MBR regenerating code featuring the inherent double replication of all code symbols and repair-by-transfer (RBT), both of which are important in practice. We first show that no MBR code can contain even a single code symbol that is replicated more than twice. We then go on to present two new families of MBR codes which feature double replication of all systematic message symbols. The codes also possess a set of d nodes whose contents include the message symbols and which can be repaired through help-by-transfer (HBT). As a corollary, we obtain systematic RBT codes for the case d = (n - 1) that possess inherent double replication of all code symbols and having a field size of O(n) in comparison with the general, O(n²) field size requirement of the earlier construction by Rashmi et al. For the cases (k = d = n - 2) or (k + 1 = d = n - 2), the field size can be reduced to q = 2, and hence the codes can be binary. We also give a necessary and sufficient condition for the existence of MBR codes having double replication of all code symbols and also suggest techniques which will enable an arbitrary MBR code to be converted to one with double replication of all code symbols.