CodePLC: A Network Coding MAC Protocol for Power Line Communication

Abstract

Power line communication systems face several challenges which degrade data communication quality. To overcome such issues, we propose CodePLC, a network coding Power Line Communication MAC protocol. We use a single relay node to intermediate communication, storing, and forwarding linear combinations of data packets. We evaluate CodePLC performance through simulations of a common topology for a PLC system under a wide range of scenarios. In sum, our results show that in a broadcast like transmission, the use of network coding enhances overall system performance. When compared to a traditional PLC system, we have observed an average of 115% goodput increase. Moreover, our protocol reduces in 112% the average of network occupancy buffers. Finally, CodePLC reduces mean latency by four times.