Error Detection

and
Correction

Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.
Note
Data can be corrupted
during transmission.

Some applications require that

errors be detected and corrected.
10-1 INTRODUCTION

Types of Errors
Redundancy
Detection Versus Correction
Forward Error Correction Versus Retransmission
Coding
Modular Arithmetic
Note
In a single-bit error, only 1 bit in the data unit has changed.
Figure 10.1 Single-bit error
Note
A burst error means that 2 or more bits in the data unit have changed.
Figure 10.2 Burst error of length 8
 Note
To detect or correct errors, we need to send extra (redundant) bits with data.
Figure 10.3 The structure of encoder and decoder
Note
In this book, we concentrate on block codes; we leave convolution codes
to advanced texts.
Note
In modulo-N arithmetic, we use only the integers in the range 0 to N −1,
inclusive.
Figure 10.4 XORing of two single bits or two words
10-2 BLOCK CODING

In block coding, we divide our message into blocks,

each of k bits, called datawords. We add r redundant
bits to each block to make the length n = k + r. The
resulting n-bit blocks are called codewords.

Error Detection
Error Correction
Hamming Distance
Minimum Hamming Distance
Figure 10.5 Datawords and codewords in block coding
 Example 10.1

In this coding scheme, k = 4 and n = 5. As we saw, we have

2k = 16 datawords and 2n = 32 codewords. We saw that 16
out of 32 codewords are used for message transfer and the
rest are either used for other purposes or unused.
Figure 10.6 Process of error detection in block coding
 Example 10.2

Let us assume that k = 2 and n = 3. Table 10.1 shows the

list of datawords and codewords. Later, we will see how
to derive a codeword from a dataword.

Assume the sender encodes the dataword 01 as 011 and

sends it to the receiver. Consider the following cases:

1. The receiver receives 011. It is a valid codeword. The

receiver extracts the dataword 01 from it.
 Example 10.2 (continued)

2. The codeword is corrupted during transmission, and

111 is received. This is not a valid codeword and is
discarded.

3. The codeword is corrupted during transmission, and

000 is received. This is a valid codeword. The receiver
incorrectly extracts the dataword 00. Two corrupted
bits have made the error undetectable.
Table 10.1 A code for error detection (Example 10.2)
Note
An error-detecting code can detect
only the types of errors for which it is designed; other types of errors may
remain undetected.
Figure 10.7 Structure of encoder and decoder in error correction
 Example 10.3

Let us add more redundant bits to Example 10.2 to see if the

receiver can correct an error without knowing what was
actually sent. We add 3 redundant bits to the 2-bit dataword
to make 5-bit codewords. Table 10.2 shows the datawords
and codewords. Assume the dataword is 01. The sender
creates the codeword 01011. The codeword is corrupted
during transmission, and 01001 is received. First, the
receiver finds that the received codeword is not in the table.
This means an error has occurred. The receiver, assuming
that there is only 1 bit corrupted, uses the following strategy
to guess the correct dataword.
 Example 10.3 (continued)

1. Comparing the received codeword with the first

codeword in the table (01001 versus 00000), the receiver
decides that the first codeword is not the one that was
sent because there are two different bits.

2. By the same reasoning, the original codeword cannot be

the third or fourth one in the table.

3. The original codeword must be the second one in the

table because this is the only one that differs from the
received codeword by 1 bit. The receiver replaces 01001
with 01011 and consults the table to find the dataword
01.
Table 10.2 A code for error correction (Example 10.3)
Note
The Hamming distance between two words is the number of differences
between corresponding bits.
 Example 10.4

Let us find the Hamming distance between two pairs of

words.

1. The Hamming distance d(000, 011) is 2 because

2. The Hamming distance d(10101, 11110) is 3 because

Note
The minimum Hamming distance is the smallest Hamming distance between
all possible pairs in a set of words.
 Example 10.5

Find the minimum Hamming distance of the coding scheme

in Table 10.1.
Solution
We first find all Hamming distances.

The dmin in this case is 2.

 Example 10.6

Find the minimum Hamming distance of the coding scheme

in Table 10.2.

Solution
We first find all the Hamming distances.

The dmin in this case is 3.

Note
To guarantee the detection of up to s errors in all cases, the minimum
Hamming distance in a block
code must be dmin = s + 1.
 Example 10.7

The minimum Hamming distance for our first code scheme

(Table 10.1) is 2. This code guarantees detection of only a
single error. For example, if the third codeword (101) is
sent and one error occurs, the received codeword does not
match any valid codeword. If two errors occur, however,
the received codeword may match a valid codeword and
the errors are not detected.
 Example 10.8

Our second block code scheme (Table 10.2) has dmin = 3.

This code can detect up to two errors. Again, we see that
when any of the valid codewords is sent, two errors create
a codeword which is not in the table of valid codewords.
The receiver cannot be fooled.

However, some combinations of three errors change a valid

codeword to another valid codeword. The receiver accepts
the received codeword and the errors are undetected.
 Note
To guarantee correction of up to t errors in all cases, the minimum Hamming
distance in a block code
must be dmin = 2t + 1.
 Example 10.9

A code scheme has a Hamming distance dmin = 4. What is

the error detection and correction capability of this
scheme?

Solution
This code guarantees the detection of up to three errors (s
= 3), but it can correct up to one error. In other words, if
this code is used for error correction, part of its capability
is wasted. Error correction codes need to have an odd
minimum distance (3, 5, 7, . . . ).
Table 10.4 Hamming code C(7, 4)
Figure 10.12 The structure of the encoder and decoder for a Hamming code
Table 10.5 Logical decision made by the correction logic analyzer
 Example 10.13

Let us trace the path of three datawords from the sender to

the destination:
1. The dataword 0100 becomes the codeword 0100011.
The codeword 0100011 is received. The syndrome is
000, the final dataword is 0100.
2. The dataword 0111 becomes the codeword 0111001.
The syndrome is 011. After flipping b2 (changing the 1
to 0), the final dataword is 0111.
3. The dataword 1101 becomes the codeword 1101000.
The syndrome is 101. After flipping b0, we get 0000,
the wrong dataword. This shows that our code cannot
correct two errors.
 Example 10.14

We need a dataword of at least 7 bits. Calculate values of k

and n that satisfy this requirement.
Solution
We need to make k = n − m greater than or equal to 7, or
2m − 1 − m ≥ 7.
1. If we set m = 3, the result is n = 23 − 1 and k = 7 − 3,
or 4, which is not acceptable.
2. If we set m = 4, then n = 24 − 1 = 15 and k = 15 − 4 =
11, which satisfies the condition. So the code is
C(15, 11)
Figure 10.13 Burst error correction using Hamming code
10-4 CYCLIC CODES

Cyclic codes are special linear block codes with one

extra property. In a cyclic code, if a codeword is
cyclically shifted (rotated), the result is another
codeword.
Table 10.6 A CRC code with C(7, 4)
Figure 10.14 CRC encoder and decoder
Figure 10.15 Division in CRC encoder
Figure 10.16 Division in the CRC decoder for two cases
10-5 CHECKSUM

The last error detection method we discuss here is

called the checksum. The checksum is used in the
Internet by several protocols although not at the data
link layer. However, we briefly discuss it here to
complete our discussion on error checking

Idea
One’s Complement
Internet Checksum
 Example 10.18

Suppose our data is a list of five 4-bit numbers that we

want to send to a destination. In addition to sending these
numbers, we send the sum of the numbers. For example, if
the set of numbers is (7, 11, 12, 0, 6), we send (7, 11, 12, 0,
6, 36), where 36 is the sum of the original numbers. The
receiver adds the five numbers and compares the result
with the sum. If the two are the same, the receiver assumes
no error, accepts the five numbers, and discards the sum.
Otherwise, there is an error somewhere and the data are
not accepted.
 Example 10.19

We can make the job of the receiver easier if we send the

negative (complement) of the sum, called the checksum. In
this case, we send (7, 11, 12, 0, 6, −36). The receiver can
add all the numbers received (including the checksum). If
the result is 0, it assumes no error; otherwise, there is an
error.
 Example 10.20

How can we represent the number 21 in one’s

complement arithmetic using only four bits?

Solution
The number 21 in binary is 10101 (it needs five bits). We
can wrap the leftmost bit and add it to the four rightmost
bits. We have (0101 + 1) = 0110 or 6.
 Example 10.21

How can we represent the number −6 in one’s

complement arithmetic using only four bits?

Solution
In one’s complement arithmetic, the negative or
complement of a number is found by inverting all bits.
Positive 6 is 0110; negative 6 is 1001. If we consider only
unsigned numbers, this is 9. In other words, the
complement of 6 is 9. Another way to find the complement
of a number in one’s complement arithmetic is to subtract
the number from 2n − 1 (16 − 1 in this case).
 Example 10.22

Let us redo Exercise 10.19 using one’s complement

arithmetic. Figure 10.24 shows the process at the sender
and at the receiver. The sender initializes the checksum to
0 and adds all data items and the checksum (the checksum
is considered as one data item and is shown in color). The
result is 36. However, 36 cannot be expressed in 4 bits.
The extra two bits are wrapped and added with the sum to
create the wrapped sum value 6. In the figure, we have
shown the details in binary. The sum is then
complemented, resulting in the checksum value 9 (15 − 6
= 9). The sender now sends six data items to the receiver
including the checksum 9.
 Example 10.22 (continued)

The receiver follows the same procedure as the sender. It

adds all data items (including the checksum); the result is
45. The sum is wrapped and becomes 15. The wrapped
sum is complemented and becomes 0. Since the value of
the checksum is 0, this means that the data is not
corrupted. The receiver drops the checksum and keeps the
other data items. If the checksum is not zero, the entire
packet is dropped.
Figure 10.24 Example 10.22