Ass.Prof.Dr.

Thamer Information theory 4th class in Communications

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Error Detection and Correction
1. Types of Errors

Whenever bits flow from one point to another, they are
subject to unpredictable changes because of interference.
This interference can change the shape of the signal.
In a single-bit error, a 0 is changed to a 1 or a 1 to a 0. The
term single-bit error means that only 1 bit of a given data
unit (such as a byte, character, or packet) is changed from 1
to 0 or from 0 to 1.
The term burst error means that 2 or more bits in the data
unit have changed from 1 to 0 or from 0 to 1.

2. Redundancy
The central concept in detecting or correcting errors is
redundancy. To be able to detect or correct errors, we need
to send some extra bits with our data. These redundant bits
are added by the sender and removed by the receiver. Their
presence allows the receiver to detect or correct corrupted
bits. The concept of including extra information in the
transmission for error detection is a good one. But instead of
repeating the entire data stream, a shorter group of bits
may be appended to the end of each unit. This technique is
called redundancy because the extra bits are redundant to
the information: they are discarded as soon as the accuracy
of the transmission has been determined.
Figure 8 shows the process of using redundant bits to
check the accuracy of a data unit. Once the data stream has
been generated, it passes through a device that analyses it
and adds on an appropriately coded redundancy check. The
data unit, now enlarged by several hits, travels over the link
Ass.Prof.Dr. Thamer Information theory 4th class in Communications

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to the receiver. The receiver puts the entire stream through
a checking function. If the received hit stream passes the
checking criteria, the data portion of the data unit is
accepted and the redundant bits are discarded.


Fig. 8

Three types of redundancy checks are common in data
communications: parity check, cyclic redundancy check
(CRC. and checksum (see Fig. 9).

2.1 Simple Parity Check
In this technique, a redundant bit called a parity bit is added
to every data unit so that the total number of 1s in the unit
(including the parity bit) becomes even (or odd). Figure (10)
shows this concept when transmit the binary data unit
1100001.
Ass.Prof.Dr. Thamer Information theory 4th class in Communications

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Fig.9


Fig. 10
Ass.Prof.Dr. Thamer Information theory 4th class in Communications

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Ass.Prof.Dr. Thamer Information theory 4th class in Communications

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Performance
Simple parity check can detect all single-bit errors. It can
also detect burst errors as long as the total number of bits
changed is odd. This method cannot detect errors where the
total number of hits changed is even. If any two bits change
in transmission, the changes cancel each other and the data
unit will pass a parity check even though the data unit is
damaged. The same holds true fur any even lumber of
errors.
2.2 Two-Dimensional Parity Check
A belter approach is the two dimensional parity checks. In
this method, a block of bits is organized in a table (rows and
columns). First we calculate the parity bit for each data unit.
Then we organize them into a table* For example, as shown
in Figure 11. We have four data units shown in four rows
and eight columns. We then calculate the panty bit for each
column and create a new row of 8 bits; they are the pants
bits for the whole block. Note that the first parity bit in the
fifth row is calculated based on all first bits: the second
parity bit is calculated based on all second bits: and so on.
We then attach the 8 parity bits to the original data and
send them to the receiver.

Ass.Prof.Dr. Thamer Information theory 4th class in Communications

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Fig . 11
Performance
Two-dimensional parity check increases the likelihood of
detecting burst errors. As we showed in Example 4. a
redundancy of n bits can easily detect a burst emir of n bils,
A burst error of more than n hits is also detected by this
method with a very high probability. There is. however, one
pattern of errors that remains elusive. If 2 bits in one data
unit arc damaged and two bits in exactly the same
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positions in another data unit are also damaged, the
checker will not detect an error. Consider for example, two
data units: 11110000 and 11000011. If the first and last bits
in each of them are changed, making the units read
01110001 and 01000010 the errors cannot he detected by
this method.

2.3 Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC)
The third and most powerful of the redundancy checking
techniques is the cyclic redundancy check (CRC). Unlike the
parity check which is based on addition. CRC is based on
binary division. In CRC, instead of adding bits to achieve a
desired parity, a sequence of redundant bits, called the CRC
or the CRC remainder, is appended to the end of a data unit
so that the resulting data unit becomes exactly divisible by a
second, predetermined binary number. At its destination, the
incoming data unit is divided by the same number. If at this
step there is no remainder the data unit is assumed to be
intact and is therefore accepted. A remainder indicates that
the data unit has been damaged in transit and therefore
must be rejected.
The redundancy bits used by CRC are derived by dividing
the data unit by a predetermined divisor; the remainder is
the CRC. To be valid, a CRC must have two qualities: It must
have exactly one less bit than the divisor, and appending it
to the end of the data string must make the resulting bit
sequence exactly divisible by the divisor.
Both the theory and the application of CRC error
detection are straightforward. The only complexity is in
deriving the CRC. To clarify this process, we will start with
an overview and add complexity as we go. Figure 12
provides an outline of the basic steps.


Ass.Prof.Dr. Thamer Information theory 4th class in Communications

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Fig. 12
First, a string of n 0s is appended to the data unit. The
number n is 1 less if-number of bits in the predetermined
divisor which is n + 1 bits.
Second, the newly elongated data unit is divided by the
divisor, using a p called binary division. The remainder
resulting from this division is the CRC.
Third, the CRC of n bits derived in step 2 replaces the
appended 0s at the data unit. Note that the CRC may
consist of all 0s.
The data unit arrives at the receiver data first, followed by
the CRC. The receiver treats the whole siring as a unit and
divides it by the same divisor that was used the CRC
remainder. If the siring arrives without error, the CRC
checker yields a remainder of zero, the data unit passes. If
the string has been changed in transit, the division yields
zero remainder and the data unit does not pass.
Ass.Prof.Dr. Thamer Information theory 4th class in Communications

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Figure 13 shows how we generate CRC.


Fig. 13


A CRC checker functions exactly as the generator does. After
receiving the data appended with the CRC, it does the same
modulo-2 division. If the remainder is all 0s, the CRC is
dropped and the data are accepted: otherwise, the received
stream of bits is discarded and data are resent. Figure 14
shows the same process of division in the receiver. We
assume that there is no error The remainder is therefore all
0s, and the data are accepted.

Ass.Prof.Dr. Thamer Information theory 4th class in Communications

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Fig .14
The divisor in the CRC generator is most often represented
not as a siring of 1s and 0s, but as an algebraic polynomial
(see Fig. 15). The polynomial format is useful for two
reasons: It is short, and it can be used to prove the concept
mathematically. The relationship of a polynomial to its
corresponding binary representation is shown in Figure 16.



Ass.Prof.Dr. Thamer Information theory 4th class in Communications

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Fig.15


Fig.16

Performance of CRC
CRC is a very effective error detection method. If the divisor
is chosen according to the previously mentioned rules,
1.CRC can detect all burst errors that affect an odd number
of bits.
2.CRC can detect all burst errors of length less than or equal
to the degree of the polynomial
3.CRC can detect, with a very high probability, burst errors
of length greater than the degree of the polynomial.



Ass.Prof.Dr. Thamer Information theory 4th class in Communications

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3. Detection versus Correction
The correction of errors is more difficult than the detection.
In error detection, we are looking only to see if any error
has occurred. The answer is a simple yes or no. We are not
even interested in the number of errors. A single-bit error is
the same for us as a burst error. In error correction, we
need to know the exact number of bits that are corrupted
and more importantly, their location in the message. The
number of the errors and the size of the message are
important factors. If we need to correct one single error in
an 8-bit data unit, we need to consider eight possible error
locations; if we need to correct two errors in a data unit of
the same size, we need to consider 28 possibilities. You can
imagine the receiver's difficulty in finding 10 errors in a data
unit of 1000 bits.
To calculate the number of redundancy bits r required to
correct a given number of data bits m. we must find a
relationship between m and r. With m bits of data and r bits
of redundancy added to them, the length of the resulting
code is m + r. If the total number of bits in a transmittable
unit is m + r. then r must be able to indicate at least
m+r+1 different states. Of these, one state means no error,
and m + r states indicate the location of an error in each of
the m + r positions.
So m+r+1 states must be discoverable by r bits: and r
bits can indicate 2
r
different states. Therefore 2
r
must be
equal to or greater than m + r + 1:

2

=>!+" +1
For example, if the value of m is 7 (as in a 7-bit ASCII
code), the smallest r value that can satisfy this equation is
4:
2
4
=>7 + 4+l
Ass.Prof.Dr. Thamer Information theory 4th class in Communications

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Table 1 shows some possible m values and the
corresponding r values.


Hamming Code
Hamming provides a practical solution. The Hamming code
can be applied to data units of any length and uses the
relationship between data and redundancy bits discussed
above. For example, a 7-bit ASCII code requires 4
redundancy bits that can be added 10 the end of the data
unit or interspersed with the original data bits. In Figure 17,
these bits are placed in positions 1, 2 ,4, and 8 (the
positions in an 11-bit sequence that are powers of 2). For
clarity in the examples below, we refer to these bits as r
1
, r
2
,
r
4
, and r
8
.


Fi.17

Ass.Prof.Dr. Thamer Information theory 4th class in Communications

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In the Hamming code, each r bit is the parity bit for one
combination of data bits, is shown below:


Also Figures 18 and 19 explains the calculations of the
redundancy bits.

Fig.18
Ass.Prof.Dr. Thamer Information theory 4th class in Communications

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Fig. 19
Now imagine that by the time the above transmission is
received, the number 7 bit has been changed from 1 to 0.
The receiver takes the transmission and recalculates 4 new
parity bits, using the same sets of bits used by the sender
plus the relevant parity r bit for each set (sec Fig. 20). Then
it assembles the new parity values into a binary number in
order of r position( r
8
r
4
, r
2
, r
1
). In our example, this step
gives us the binary number 0111 (7 in decimal), which is the
precise location of the bit in error.

Ass.Prof.Dr. Thamer Information theory 4th class in Communications

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Fig .20

Once the bit is identified, the receiver can reverse its
value and correct the error. The beauty of the technique is
that it can easily be implemented in hardware and the code
is corrected before the receiver knows about it.