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In this paper, locally repairable codes with all-symbol locality are studied. Methods to modify already existing codes are presented. Also, it is shown that with high probability, a random matrix with a few extra columns guaranteeing the locality property, is a generator matrix for a locally repairable code with a good minimum distance. The proof of this also gives a constructive method to find locally repairable codes. Constructions are given of three infinite classes of optimal vector-linear locally repairable codes over an alphabet of small size, not depending on the size of the code.Comment: 32 pages. Second code construction in Section V is corrected in this version. Also, some typos are corrected. The results remain the same. Submitted to IEEE Transactions on Information Theory. This is extended, generalized, and clarified version of arXiv:1408.018

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Constructions of optimal locally repairable codes (LRCs) in the case of (r + 1) n and over small finite fields were stated as open problems for LRCs in [I. Tamo et al., "Optimal locally repairable codes and connections to matroid theory", 2013 IEEE ISIT]. In this paper, these problems are studied by constructing almost optimal linear LRCs, which are proven to be optimal for certain parameters, including cases for which (r + 1) n. More precisely, linear codes for given length, dimension, and all-symbol locality are constructed with almost optimal minimum distance. 'Almost optimal' refers to the fact that their minimum distance differs by at most one from the optimal value given by a known bound for LRCs. In addition to these linear LRCs, optimal LRCs which do not require a large field are constructed for certain classes of parameters.

Recent research on distributed storage systems (DSSs) has revealed interesting connections between matroid theory and locally repairable codes (LRCs). The goal of this chapter is to introduce the reader to matroids and polymatroids, and illustrate their relation to distributed storage systems. While many of the results are rather technical in nature, effort is made to increase accessibility via simple examples. The chapter embeds all the essential features of LRCs, namely locality, availability, and hierarchy alongside with related generalised Singleton bounds.