Performance evaluation of Forward Error Correction in ATM networks

If the packet loss rate in a network is higher than the loss rate requested by an application, the transport protocol must make up for the difference in loss rate. In high bandwidth delay-product networks the latency introduced by retransmission-based error recovery schemes may be too high for applications with latency constraints. In this case, Forward Error Correction (FEC) can be used. FEC allows recovery from loss without retransmission. The amount of loss recovered strongly depends on the loss behavior of the network. FEC works best if losses are dispersed in time.