An evaluation of configuration parameters affecting network coding on the data link layer in a wireless network

Network Coding, introduced in [2], promises significant theoretical capacity gains in multicast networks. Practical implementations in underlay networks are however quite complex in practice and performance is subject to many network variables. In this paper we model a network coding function at the data link layer of an 802.11g wireless node and evaluate the network coding performance for certain well known network coding topologies. We evaluate the throughput in a simulated ad hoc wireless network using the OPNET® Modeler and show the effect of various network parameters on the fraction of network coded data.