Method and apparatus for implementing multicast service

• US 8,270,294 B2
• Filed: 11/15/2007
• Issued: 09/18/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/22/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Apex Net LLC (IP Edge LLC)
• Original Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Wu, Haijun
• Primary Examiner(s): Sefcheck, Gregory
• Assistant Examiner(s): YOUNG, STEVE R
• Application Number:
  US11/940,781
• Publication Number:
  US 20080068990A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,769 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/229
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/185 with management of multicast group membership
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/00 Routing or path finding of packets in data switching networks routing or path finding in wireless networks H04W40/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/16 Multipoint routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/15 in relation to multipoint traffic arrangements for broadcast or multicast in data networks H04L12/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/70 Admission control; Resource allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/806 Broadcast or multicast traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/611 for multicast or broadcast systems for broadcast or conference H04L12/18; arrangements for broadcast or distribution combined with broadcast H04H20/00; arrangements for broadcast applications with a direct linkage to broadcast information or to broadcast space-time H04H60/00; selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS], H04W4/06
• 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

Embodiments of the present invention provide a method and an apparatus for implementing a multicast service. The method includes: constructing a multicast service notification packet, and sending the multicast service notification packet to a user terminal; the multicast service notification packet may be a return notification packet for responding a request of a user for joining a multicast group or an abnormity notification packet for notifying a user of reason for an abnormity in the multicast service or the reason that the user fails to join the multicast group. Therefore, it is effective to improve the user'"'"'s satisfaction of a multicast video service provided by an operator and to improve the operability and the manageability of a multicast video network.

Claims

1. A method for implementing a multicast service, comprising:

receiving, by a digital subscriber line access multiplexer (DSLAM), a request for joining a multicast group from a user terminal;

recording, by the DSLAM, a port of the user terminal upon receiving the request for joining the multicast group sent by the user terminal;

determining, by the DSLAM, whether the user terminal is able to join the multicast group, and if so, permitting the user terminal to join the multicast group and providing, by the DSLAM, multicast service of the multicast group to the user terminal;

determining, by the DSLAM, whether quality of service (QoS) of the multicast service is impaired during the process of the multicast service being provided to the user terminal, and if so, determining, by the DSLAM, a reason that the QoS of the multicast service is impaired;

constructing, by the DSLAM, an abnormity notification packet carrying the reason that the QoS of the multicast is impaired; and

sending, by the DSLAM, the abnormity notification packet to the user terminal via the recorded port;

upon determining that the user terminal is unable to be provided with multicast service of the multicast group, determining, by the DSLAM, a reason that the user terminal is unable to join the multicast group;

constructing, by the DSLAM, a return notification packet for responding to the request for joining the multicast group, the return notification packet carrying the reason that the user terminal is unable to join the multicast group; and

sending, by the DSLAM, the return notification packet to the user terminal via the recorded port;

wherein the return notification packet and the abnormity notification packet are Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) packets with different formats.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the reason that the user terminal is unable to join the multicast group is selected from the group consisting of:

a reason that the user terminal has no right to join the multicast group; and

a reason that a physical port of the network side does not have enough bandwidth to provide the user terminal with the multicast service.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the reason that QoS of the multicast service is impaired is indicated in the abnormity notification packet by a character string or a reason identifier (ID), the character string or the reason ID being selected from a group of character strings or reason IDs which are set in accordance with failure types.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the reason that the QoS of the multicast service is impaired comprises one of that a backbone bandwidth is not enough, a line bandwidth is not enough, and a line is deteriorated.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the return notification packet comprises a packet type field of 0x46 indicating that the return notification packet is a report receipt and the abnormity notification packet comprises a packet type field of 0x48 indicating that the abnormity notification packet is an information packet.

6. A method for implementing a multicast service, comprising:

receiving a request for joining a multicast group from a user terminal;

determining whether the user terminal is capable of joining the multicast group;

if the user terminal is capable of joining the multicast group, providing multicast service for the user terminal;

upon determining that a packet loss occurs due to bandwidth restriction in the multicast service provision process, constructing an abnormity notification packet carrying information indicating that a reason for quality of service (QoS) impairment of the multicast service is bandwidth restriction;

sending the abnormity notification packet to the user terminal, so as to notify the user terminal of the reason for the QoS impairment of the multicast service;

if the user terminal is incapable of joining the multicast group, sending a return notification packet for responding the packet for joining a multicast group, the return notification packet indicating a reason that the user terminal is unable to join the multicast group;

wherein the return notification packet and the abnormity notification packet are Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) packets with different formats.

7. The method of for implementing a multicast service of claim 6, further comprising:

extracting a source address from the packet for joining the multicast group.

8. The method for implementing a multicast service of claim 7, wherein the abnormity notification packet is a unicast packet, and

the step of constructing an abnormity notification packet comprises:

modifying a destination address of the abnormity notification packet into the source address extracted from the received packet for joining the multicast group.

9. The method for implementing a multicast service of claim 6, further comprising:

recording a port receiving the packet for joining the multicast group, the port being configured at the access device and corresponding to the user terminal.

10. The method for implementing a multicast service of claim 9, wherein the abnormity notification packet is a multicast packet, and the abnormity notification packet is sent to the user terminal via the recorded port.

11. The method for implementing a multicast service of claim 6, wherein the method is implemented in a Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer (DSLAM).

12. The method for implementing a multicast service of claim 6, wherein the reason for QoS impairment is carried in the abnormity notification packet by means of a character string or a reason ID, the character string or the reason ID being selected from a group of character strings or reason IDs which are set in accordance with failure types.

13. The method for implementing a multicast service of claim 12, wherein the reason that the QoS of the multicast service is impaired comprises one selected from a backbone bandwidth is not enough, a line bandwidth is not enough, and a line is deteriorated.

14. A Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer (DSLAM), comprising:

a receiver, configured for receiving a request for joining a multicast group from a user terminal;

a return notification packet constructing module, configured for constructing, when it is determined that the user terminal is unable to join the multicast group, a return notification packet carrying a reason that the user terminal is unable to join the multicast group, and sending the return notification packet to the user terminal;

an abnormity reason determining module, configured for determining, when quality of service (QoS) of the multicast service is impaired during the multicast service being provided to the user terminal, a reason that the QoS of the multicast service is impaired;

an abnormity notification packet constructing module, configured for constructing an abnormity notification packet carrying the reason that the QoS of the multicast is impaired, and sending the abnormity notification packet to the user terminal;

wherein the return notification packet and the abnormity notification packet are Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) packets with different formats.

15. The DSLAM of claim 14, wherein the return notification packet comprises a packet type field of 0x46 indicating that the return notification packet is a report receipt and the abnormity notification packet comprises a packet type field of 0x48 indicating that the abnormity notification packet is an information packet.

16. The DSLAM of claim 14, wherein the reason that the user terminal is unable to join the multicast group comprises:

a reason that the user terminal has no right to join the multicast group;

or

a reason that a physical port of a network side does not have enough bandwidth to provide the user terminal with the multicast service.

17. The DSLAM of claim 14, wherein the reason that QoS of the multicast service is impaired is indicated in the abnormity notification packet by a character string or a reason identifier (ID).

18. The DSLAM of claim 17, wherein the reason that the QoS of the multicast service is impaired comprises one of that a backbone bandwidth is not enough, a line bandwidth is not enough, and a line is deteriorated.