Multicast IP zones for fast spanning tree convergence in wide-area packet network systems
First Claim
1. In a communication system organized into a plurality of participating zones for a call, a method comprising:
- joining, by one or more recipient devices including at least a source zone packet duplicator, a multicast address associated with the source zone, defining a source zone multicast address;
establishing, by one or more network devices, a source zone multicast routing tree logically interconnecting the recipient devices having joined the source zone multicast address; and
sending, from a communication source in the source zone to the one or more network devices, one or more packets addressed to the source zone multicast address;
distributing one or more packets for the call, within the source zone of the participating zones, via the source zone multicast routing tree;
receiving the packets by a host associated with the source zone;
forwarding the packets by the host associated with the source zone to one or more hosts associated with listening zones of the participating zones;
receiving the packets by the hosts associated with the listening zones; and
separately re-distributing the packets within the listening zones via one or more separate listening zone multicast routing trees.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
System and methods for confining multicast routing trees to within single zones of a multi-zone communication systems, thereby enabling faster convergence of the trees relative to trees spanning multiple zones. Separate multicast routing trees are established using different multicast addresses in a source zone and one or more listening zones. Packets for a call distributed by routers (104, 116) of a packet network within the source zone via a source zone multicast address are received by a source zone packet duplicator (132). The source zone packet duplicator forwards the packets, via routers (116, 118, 120, 122) of the packet network using unicast routing, to various listening zone packet duplicators (136, 138). The listening zone packet duplicators, upon receiving the packets, separately distribute the packets within their respective zones via the packet network using different multicast addresses of the listening zones. The source zone and listening zones may be redefined during the call as the source changes or moves to different zones.
126 Citations
21 Claims
-
1. In a communication system organized into a plurality of participating zones for a call, a method comprising:
-
joining, by one or more recipient devices including at least a source zone packet duplicator, a multicast address associated with the source zone, defining a source zone multicast address; establishing, by one or more network devices, a source zone multicast routing tree logically interconnecting the recipient devices having joined the source zone multicast address; and sending, from a communication source in the source zone to the one or more network devices, one or more packets addressed to the source zone multicast address; distributing one or more packets for the call, within the source zone of the participating zones, via the source zone multicast routing tree; receiving the packets by a host associated with the source zone; forwarding the packets by the host associated with the source zone to one or more hosts associated with listening zones of the participating zones; receiving the packets by the hosts associated with the listening zones; and separately re-distributing the packets within the listening zones via one or more separate listening zone multicast routing trees. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 13)
-
-
9. In a communication system organized into a plurality of participating zones for a call, a method comprising:
-
distributing one or more packets for the call, within a source zone of the participating zones, via a source zone multicast routing tree; receiving the packets by a host associated with the source zone; forwarding the packets by the host associated with the source zone to one or more hosts associated with listening zones of the participating zones; receiving the packets by the hosts associated with the listening zones; joining, by recipient devices in different zones of the listening zones, different listening zone multicast addresses; and establishing, by one or more network devices, the separate listening zone multicast routing trees logically interconnecting the recipient devices in the different listening zones having joined the different listening zone multicast addresses; and separately re-distributing the packets within the listening zones via one or more separate listening zone multicast routing trees. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
-
Specification