Enhanced multicast forwarding cache (eMFC)
First Claim
1. A node operating in a mesh network, comprising:
- a processor operating an enhanced multicast forwarding protocol that provides a Multicast Forwarding Header (MFH) for multicast packets transmitted over the mesh network, the MFH including a device identifier for a sending node and being independent of any Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with the sending node and further including a multicast group identifier identifying nodes in the mesh network associated with a same multicast group.
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Abstract
An Enhanced Multicast Forwarding Cache (eMFC) supports multicast transmissions in mobile mesh networks. The enhanced MFC is designed to support mesh node mobility, quality of service, and security requirements that are particular to mesh networks. To achieve these goals, the enhanced MFC draws from a global state maintained by a unicast routing protocol, multicast aware applications, and distributed services. The eMFC distributes this derived global state through the use of an eMFC-specific multicast packet header. Information contained within the eMFC header is also used to collect and derive multicast traffic statistics at each mesh node. To maintain backwards compatibility, multicast traffic without the eMFC-specific header is also honored by the MFC. Mobile mesh network specific interfaces, such as radio interfaces, as well as conventional interface types are supported. Security is maintained through the use of authentication and encryption techniques.
69 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A node operating in a mesh network, comprising:
a processor operating an enhanced multicast forwarding protocol that provides a Multicast Forwarding Header (MFH) for multicast packets transmitted over the mesh network, the MFH including a device identifier for a sending node and being independent of any Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with the sending node and further including a multicast group identifier identifying nodes in the mesh network associated with a same multicast group. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. An ad-hoc mesh network, comprising:
multiple mobile nodes that conduct logical point-to-point wireless communications with their neighbors within the mesh network and further provide hops for forwarding messages between other nodes in the mesh network, the nodes providing a mesh multicast protocol that forwards multicast packets between different nodes according to both a mesh network routing table and a mesh based multicast header in the multicast packets. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method for distributing multicast packets in the ad-hoc mesh network, comprising:
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using a Multicast Forwarding Cache (MFC) to identify mobile nodes in the mesh network that require forwarding of wirelessly received multicast packets;
receiving multicast packets that contain a multicast header that is adapted for multicast operations in the mesh network; and
using the MFC in combination with the multicast header to forward the multicast packets to other nodes in the mesh network. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification