Caching at the Edge with Fountain Codes

We address the use of linear random fountain coded caching schemes in a heterogeneous satellite network. We consider a system composed of multiple hubs and a geostationary Earth orbit satellite. Coded content is memorized in hubs’ caches in order to serve immediately the user requests and reduce the usage of the satellite backhaul link. We derive the analytical expression of the average backhaul rate, as well as a tight upper bound to it with a simple expression. Furthermore, we derive the optimal caching strategy which minimizes the average backhaul rate and compare the performance of the linear random fountain code scheme to that of a scheme using maximum distance separable codes. Our simulation results indicate that the performance obtained using fountain codes is similar to that of maximum distance separable codes.