SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DISTRIBUTING MULTICASTS IN VIRTUAL LOCAL AREA NETWORKS
First Claim
1. A multicast network device (MND) having a plurality of interfaces for forwarding messages within a computer network, the computer network having at least one region that includes a plurality of virtual local area network (VLAN) domains and to which the MND is directly-coupled, the MND comprising:
- a multicast controller for efficiently distributing multicast messages to subscribing entities associated with one or more of the VLAN domains, wherein the multicast controller is configured to;
establish a sub-regional Multicast VLAN Identifier (MVLAN-ID) that encompasses a set of the VLAN domains, and one or more color-limited MVLAN-IDs that encompass all but one of the VLAN domains within the set, append the sub-regional MVLAN-ID to multicast messages received either from outside of the VLAN region or from a VLAN domain not included with the set of VLAN domains, and append a selected color-limited MVLAN-ID to multicast messages that are received from within the VLAN region, and are associated with a VLAN domain included within the set of VLAN domains.
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Abstract
The invention relates to a system and method for efficiently distributing multicast messages within computer networks configured to have one or more virtual local area network (VLAN) domains. A multicast network device (MND), having a plurality of interfaces, includes a multicast controller for efficiently distributing multicast messages among subscribing entities associated with various VLAN domains. The multicast controller, which is in communicating relationship with the interfaces, includes a VLAN assignment engine for assigning responsibility for the VLAN domains to the extent there are multiple MNDs. The multicast controller also accesses a multicast tag source to establish a plurality of novel VLAN tags for efficiently distributing multicast messages, including a sub-regional Multicast VLAN Identifier (MVLAN-ID) that encompasses all of the VLAN domains for which the respective MND is responsible, and one or more color-limited MVLAN-IDs that encompass all of the VLAN domains for which the MND is responsible except for one. The multicast controller then tags multicast messages with its sub-regional or a color-limited MVLAN-ID depending on whether the message is considered internal or external by the respective MND. The tagged messages are then forwarded for distribution to the subscribers associated with the various VLAN domains.
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Citations
11 Claims
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1. A multicast network device (MND) having a plurality of interfaces for forwarding messages within a computer network, the computer network having at least one region that includes a plurality of virtual local area network (VLAN) domains and to which the MND is directly-coupled, the MND comprising:
a multicast controller for efficiently distributing multicast messages to subscribing entities associated with one or more of the VLAN domains, wherein the multicast controller is configured to;
establish a sub-regional Multicast VLAN Identifier (MVLAN-ID) that encompasses a set of the VLAN domains, and one or more color-limited MVLAN-IDs that encompass all but one of the VLAN domains within the set, append the sub-regional MVLAN-ID to multicast messages received either from outside of the VLAN region or from a VLAN domain not included with the set of VLAN domains, and append a selected color-limited MVLAN-ID to multicast messages that are received from within the VLAN region, and are associated with a VLAN domain included within the set of VLAN domains. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A computer readable medium containing executable program instructions for efficiently distributing multicast messages within a computer network having at least one region that includes a plurality of virtual local area network (VLAN) domains, the executable program instructions comprising program instructions for:
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establishing a sub-regional Multicast VLAN Identifier (MVLAN-ID) that encompasses a set of the VLAN domains;
establishing one or more color-limited MVLAN-IDs that encompass all but one of the VLAN domains within the set;
in response to receiving a multicast message, determining whether or not the multicast message was received from a VLAN domain included within the set;
appending the sub-regional MVLAN-ID to the multicast messages provided that it was not received from a VLAN domain included within the set; and
appending a color-limited MVLAN-ID to the multicast message provided that it was received from a VLAN domain included within the set.
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11. A method for distributing multicast messages within a computer network having a plurality of virtual local area network (VLAN) domains, the method comprising the steps of:
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establishing a sub-regional Multicast VLAN Identifier (MVLAN-ID) that encompasses a set of the VLAN domains;
establishing one or more color-limited MVLAN-IDs, each color-limited MVLAN-ID encompassing all but one of the VLAN domains within the set, appending the sub-regional MVLAN-ID to multicast messages received either from outside of the VLAN region or from a VLAN domain not included with the set of VLAN domains, and appending a selected color-limited MVLAN-ID to multicast messages that are received from within the VLAN region, and are associated with a VLAN domain included within the set of VLAN domains.
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Specification