An efficient multiple-errors and multiple-erasures decoding algorithm for multitrack magnetic recording channels

This paper presents a simple and practical error control mechanism that allows multiple-errors and multiple-erasures correction for multitrack magnetic recording systems. The proposed mechanism is based on using a simple and fast hash function to locate erroneous tracks in magnetic tape and exploit the MDS property of array codes to correct these tracks as erasures. The mechanism enables MDS array codes with r parity symbols to correct s tracks in error and t erased tracks (s + t less than or equal to r) with negligible probability of undetected error. The proposed mechanism reduces the redundancy requirement, for a given degree of reliability, by almost 50 % from that needed by conventional systems. It also reduces the encoding and decoding complexity for multitrack magnetic recording channels.