Dynamic source selection within an IP multicast network

• US 20070058627A1
• Filed: 08/30/2005
• Published: 03/15/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 08/30/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Sbc Knowledge Ventures, L.P.
• Inventors: Liu, Kuo-Hui, Smith, Donald, Yuan, Chin, Sinwald, Michael
• Granted Patent: US 8,099,483 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/390
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1868 Measures taken after transmission, e.g. acknowledgments
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/02 Topology update or discovery
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/16 Multipoint routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/28 using route fault recovery
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/201 Multicast operation; Broadcast operation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1001 for accessing one among a plurality of replicated servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/101 based on network conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1034 Reaction to server failures by a load balancer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/40 for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity, e.g. service redundancy protocols, protocol state redundancy or protocol service redirection management of faults, events, alarms or notifications in data switching networks H04L41/06

Abstract

A method to perform dynamic source selection within an IP multicast network is performed at a designated router of an IP multicast network. At the designated router within the IP multicast network, a first source of a multicast group is selected to be forwarded to a receiving host or multiple receiving hosts. The first source is monitored to automatically detect when the first source exhibits a predetermined characteristic. At the designated router, responsive to the detection that the first source exhibits the predetermined characteristic, a second source of the multicast group is automatically selected to be forwarded to the receiving host or hosts. The method also supports automatic selection of all normally operating sources and forwarding of the traffic of such sources or channels to the receiving hosts or hosts.

Claims

1. A method to perform a dynamic source selection within an IP multicast network, the method including:

at a router in the IP multicast network, selecting a first source of a multicast group to be forwarded to a receiving host;

automatically detecting that the first source exhibits a predetermined characteristic; and

at the router, responsive to the detection that the first source exhibits the predetermined characteristic, automatically selecting a second source of the multicast group to be forwarded to the receiving host.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the detecting that the first source exhibits the predetermined characteristic includes monitoring at least one traffic characteristic associated with the first source.

3. The method of claim of 1, wherein the detecting that the first source exhibits the predetermined characteristic includes monitoring reachability of the first source, as determinable from routing information pertaining to the first source.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined characteristic is specified by a policy associated with the first source, the policy further specifying at least one value for the predetermined characteristic.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the at least one value is associated with at least one of a number of states of the first source.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the policy specifies a plurality of indicators to control monitoring of the first source and the selection of the second source.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the automatic selection of the second source of the multicast group is performed with reference to a rule.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the rule is to control selection of the second source from a plurality of sources of the multicast group.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the rule is one of a group of rules including a select-one rule to select a single source from the plurality of sources of the multicast group, a select-all rule to select all operational sources from the plurality of sources, and a complex rule according to a logical expression.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second sources of the multicast group are associated with respective first and second channels, each of the first and second channels being defined in terms of a respective multicast source and the multicast channel.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the first source is defined within the multicast group as a primary source, and the second source is defined within the multicast group as a secondary source.

21. A machine-readable medium storing a set of instructions that, when executed by a machine, cause the machine to perform the method of claim 1.

12. A system to perform a dynamic source selection within an IP multicast network, the system including:

a channel selection module, at a router in the IP multicast network, to select a first source of a multicast group to be forwarded to a receiving host; and

a state monitoring module, at the router, automatically to detect that the first source exhibits a predetermined characteristic;

wherein the channel selection module, responsive to the detection that the first source exhibits the predetermined characteristic, is automatically to select a second source of the multicast group to be forwarded to the receiving host.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the state monitoring module is to monitor at least one traffic characteristic associated with the first source.

14. The system of claim of 12, wherein the state monitoring module is to monitor reachability of the first source, as determinable from routing information pertaining to the first source.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein the predetermined characteristic is specified by a policy associated with the first source, the policy further specifying at least one value for the predetermined characteristic.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the at least one value is associated with at least one of a number of states of the first source.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the policy specifies a plurality of indicators to control monitoring of the first source and the selection of the second source.

18. The system of claim 12, wherein the channel selection module is to select the second source of the multicast group of with reference to a rule.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the rule is to control selection of the second source from a plurality of sources of the multicast group.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein the rule is one of a group of rules including a select-one rule to select a single source from the plurality of sources of the multicast group, a select-all rule to select all operational sources from the plurality of sources, and a complex rule according to a logical expression.

22. A system to perform a dynamic source selection within an IP multicast network, the system including:

first means, at a router in the IP multicast network, for selecting a first source of a multicast group to be forwarded to a receiving host; and

second means, at the router, for automatically detecting that the first source exhibits a predetermined characteristic;

wherein the first means, responsive to the detection that the first source exhibits the predetermined characteristic, is for automatically selecting a second source of the multicast group to be forwarded to the receiving host.

23. A method to perform a dynamic source selection within an IP multicast network, the method including:

at a router in the IP multicast network, selecting all operational sources from the plurality of sources to be forwarded to a receiving host;

automatically detecting that the first source of the operational sources exhibits a predetermined characteristic; and

at the router, responsive to the detection that the first source exhibits the predetermined characteristic, automatically deselecting the first source for forwarded to the receiving host.