Reed-Solomon Forward Error Correction (FEC) Schemes
RFC 5510

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Network Working Group                                           J. Lacan
Request for Comments: 5510                                ISAE/LAAS-CNRS
Category: Standards Track                                        V. Roca
                                                                   INRIA
                                                            J. Peltotalo
                                                            S. Peltotalo
                                        Tampere University of Technology
                                                              April 2009

          Reed-Solomon Forward Error Correction (FEC) Schemes

Status of This Memo

   This document specifies an Internet standards track protocol for the
   Internet community, and requests discussion and suggestions for
   improvements.  Please refer to the current edition of the "Internet
   Official Protocol Standards" (STD 1) for the standardization state
   and status of this protocol.  Distribution of this memo is unlimited.

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Lacan, et al.               Standards Track                     [Page 1]
RFC 5510         Reed-Solomon Forward Error Correction        April 2009

Abstract

   This document describes a Fully-Specified Forward Error Correction
   (FEC) Scheme for the Reed-Solomon FEC codes over GF(2^^m), where m is
   in {2..16}, and its application to the reliable delivery of data
   objects on the packet erasure channel (i.e., a communication path
   where packets are either received without any corruption or discarded
   during transmission).  This document also describes a Fully-Specified
   FEC Scheme for the special case of Reed-Solomon codes over GF(2^^8)
   when there is no encoding symbol group.  Finally, in the context of
   the Under-Specified Small Block Systematic FEC Scheme (FEC Encoding
   ID 129), this document assigns an FEC Instance ID to the special case
   of Reed-Solomon codes over GF(2^^8).

   Reed-Solomon codes belong to the class of Maximum Distance Separable
   (MDS) codes, i.e., they enable a receiver to recover the k source
   symbols from any set of k received symbols.  The schemes described
   here are compatible with the implementation from Luigi Rizzo.

Lacan, et al.               Standards Track                     [Page 2]
RFC 5510         Reed-Solomon Forward Error Correction        April 2009

Table of Contents

   1. Introduction ....................................................4
   2. Terminology .....................................................5
   3. Definitions Notations and Abbreviations .........................5
      3.1. Definitions ................................................5
      3.2. Notations ..................................................6
      3.3. Abbreviations ..............................................7
   4. Formats and Codes with FEC Encoding ID 2 ........................7
      4.1. FEC Payload ID .............................................7
      4.2. FEC Object Transmission Information ........................8
           4.2.1. Mandatory Elements ..................................8
           4.2.2. Common Elements .....................................8
           4.2.3. Scheme-Specific Elements ............................9
           4.2.4. Encoding Format .....................................9
   5. Formats and Codes with FEC Encoding ID 5 .......................11
      5.1. FEC Payload ID ............................................11
      5.2. FEC Object Transmission Information .......................12
           5.2.1. Mandatory Elements .................................12
           5.2.2. Common Elements ....................................12
           5.2.3. Scheme-Specific Elements ...........................12
           5.2.4. Encoding Format ....................................12