Method for Multicast Flow Routing Selection

• US 20130114595A1
• Filed: 10/09/2012
• Published: 05/09/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/04/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Futurewei Technologies Incorporated (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Futurewei Technologies Incorporated (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Mack-Crane, T. Benjamin, Ashwood-Smith, Peter
• Granted Patent: US 8,885,643 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/390
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/185 with management of multicast group membership
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/16 Multipoint routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/48 Routing tree calculation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/484 using multiple routing trees
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/66 Layer 2 routing, e.g. in Ethernet based MAN's

Abstract

A network component comprising a memory coupled to a processor, wherein the memory comprises instructions that cause the processor to select a first multicast routing mode from a plurality of multicast routing modes supported by a network comprising the network component, assign the first multicast routing mode to a first multicast flow, and advertise a first information frame to a first plurality of nodes, wherein the first information frame provides the assignment of the first multicast routing mode to the first multicast flow.

Claims

1. A network component comprising:

a memory coupled to a processor, wherein the memory comprises instructions that cause the processor to;

select a first multicast routing mode from a plurality of multicast routing modes supported by a network comprising the network component;

assign the first multicast routing mode to a first multicast flow; and

advertise a first information frame to a first plurality of nodes,

wherein the first information frame provides the assignment of the first multicast routing mode to the first multicast flow.

2. The network component of claim 1, wherein the instructions further cause the processor to:

select a second multicast routing mode from the multicast routing modes supported by the network;

assign the second multicast routing mode to a second multicast flow; and

advertise a second information frame to a second plurality of nodes,

wherein the second information frame provides the assignment of the second multicast routing mode to the second multicast flow.

3. The network component of claim 2, wherein the first multicast routing mode and the second multicast routing mode are different cast routing modes.

4. The network component of claim 1, wherein the information frame comprises a multicast selection field that indicates the multicast routing mode.

5. The network component of claim 4, wherein the multicast selection field provides for a default routing mode, and wherein the multicast selection field is about two bits long.

6. The network component of claim 4, wherein the multicast selection field indicates a head-end replication routing mode, a source specific tree routing mode, or a shared tree routing mode.

7. The network component of claim 1, wherein the information frame comprises a tie-break field that indicates a tree path.

8. The network component of claim 7, wherein the tie-break field provides for a default tree, wherein the tie-break field is about four bits long, and wherein the default tree indicates the Equal Cost Tree (ECT)-Algorithm is used to create the tree path.

9. The network component of claim 1, wherein a plurality of receiver nodes advertise a request data frame to receive data from the first multicast flow.

10. The network component of claim 1, wherein the information frame is a modified Shortest Path Bridging Media Access Control (SPBM) servicer identifier and Unicast Address sub-type-length-value (sub-TLV) that further comprises a multicast selection field and a tie-break field.

11. A network comprising:

a first multicast source node assigned to a first multicast flow and a second multicast flow; and

a plurality of receiver nodes coupled to the first multicast source node,

wherein the first multicast flow and the second multicast flow is configured to multicast to the receiver nodes,

wherein the first multicast flow is assigned to a first multicast mode, and

wherein the second multicast flow is assigned a second multicast mode.

12. The network of claim 11, wherein the first multicast mode and the second multicast mode at the first source node are different multicast modes.

13. The network of claim 12, wherein the first multicast mode indicates a shared tree routing mode, and wherein the second multicast mode indicates a source specific tree routing mode.

14. The network of claim 11, wherein a second multicast source node is assigned to the first multicast flow, wherein the second multicast source node is assigned to the third multicast mode for a third multicast flow, and wherein the third multicast mode is different from the first multicast mode.

15. The network of claim 11, wherein the first multicast mode and the second multicast mode at the multicast source node are the same multicast modes, and wherein the first multicast mode and the second multicast mode are assigned a different tie-break mask.

16. A method for multicast transmission comprising:

selecting a plurality of root nodes, wherein the root nodes are used to calculate a plurality of shared trees, wherein a first shared tree comprises a plurality of nodes,

selecting the first shared tree from the plurality of shared trees, and

calculating a forwarding state that corresponds to the first shared tree at each node.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein a first root node advertises assignment information for the first shared tree, and wherein the assignment information comprises the first root node information and an algorithm to calculate the first shared tree.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein a plurality of multicast flows are assigned to the first shared tree, and wherein the plurality of multicast flows are assigned to the first shared tree using a standard hash assignment algorithm.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein each node is configured to select the first root node and calculate the first share tree using a common algorithm.

20. A network component comprising:

a memory coupled to a processor, wherein the memory comprises instructions that cause the processor to advertise a sub-type-length-value (sub-TLV) comprising;

a shared tree field that indicates an Backbone Service Instance Identifier (I-SID) endpoint uses a shared tree for multicast frames; and

a tie-break mask that indicates the shared tree used for the I-SID endpoint.

21. The network component of claim 20, wherein the sub-TLV further comprises a transmitter field that indicates the I-SID endpoint is a source node for a Group Media Access Control (MAC) addresses, a receiver field that indicates the I-SID endpoint is a receiver node for the Group MAC addresses, and an Backbone Service instance identifier (I-SID) field that indicates a group service membership identifier.

22. The network component of claim 21, wherein a tree is constructed corresponding to the Equal Cost Tree (ECT)-Algorithm between the source node and any receiver nodes that have the same group service membership identifier.

23. The network component of claim 22, wherein when the transmitter field is set and the shared tree field is set, the shared tree field takes precedence.

24. The network component of claim 20, wherein the tie-break mask is about four bits long, wherein the shared tree field is about one bit long, wherein the transmitter field is about one bit long, wherein the receiver field is about one bit long, and wherein the I-SID field is about 24 bits long.

25. The network component of claim 24, wherein the tie-break mask is repeated to form a 64-bit mask used in selecting a low bridge identifier from a plurality of bridge identifiers, and wherein a selection process is used in a multicast tree calculations to select a shared tree root bridge and a plurality of parent nodes in Shortest Path Trees (SPTs) when equal cost paths are available.