Method and system for intelligently forwarding multicast packets
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- by a network device configured to perform layer 2 packet switching within a Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN), examining a multicast content message; and
identifying one or more outgoing ports of the device based at least in part on;
network layer information extracted from the multicast content message, the network layer information comprising a multicast group address comprising a destination Internet Protocol (IP) address; and
forwarding information stored in one or more memories of the device, the forwarding information previously generated based on examination, by the device, of multicast control messages exchanged by multicast routers in the VLAN, the identifying for use in forwarding the multicast content message towards the one or more outgoing ports based at least in part on the multicast group address.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A routing system utilizes a layer 2 switch interconnecting several routers to intelligently forward multicast packets throughout an internet exchange carrying multicast content. The layer 2 switch performs protocol snooping to extract a lookup key that is based on network layer protocol information. The lookup key is uniquely formulated to support either shared or explicit source distribution trees. The lookup key is used to query a forwarding memory that returns an outgoing port index. The outgoing port index points to one or more outgoing ports that are eligible to receive the multicast packet. The outgoing ports are also connected to the neighboring device(s) that are designated to receive the multicast packet. The routing system also supports real time maintenance and updating of the forwarding memory based on the periodic exchange of control messages. The routing system is configured to support PIM routers operating in PIM SM or PIM SSM modes. However, the routing system can also support other multicast protocols and/or standards.
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Citations
41 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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by a network device configured to perform layer 2 packet switching within a Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN), examining a multicast content message; and identifying one or more outgoing ports of the device based at least in part on; network layer information extracted from the multicast content message, the network layer information comprising a multicast group address comprising a destination Internet Protocol (IP) address; and forwarding information stored in one or more memories of the device, the forwarding information previously generated based on examination, by the device, of multicast control messages exchanged by multicast routers in the VLAN, the identifying for use in forwarding the multicast content message towards the one or more outgoing ports based at least in part on the multicast group address. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. An apparatus comprising:
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a memory, the apparatus configured to perform layer 2 packet switching within a Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN); and one or more processors configured to; examine a multicast content message; and identify one or more outgoing ports of the apparatus based at least in part on; network layer information extracted from the multicast content message, the network layer information comprising a multicast group address comprising a destination Internet Protocol (IP) address; and forwarding information stored in one or more memories of the apparatus, the forwarding information previously generated based on examination, by the apparatus, of multicast control messages exchanged by multicast routers in the VLAN, the identifying for use in forwarding the multicast content message towards the one or more outgoing ports, the forwarding information comprising information for identifying the one or more outgoing ports based at least in part on the multicast group address. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. An apparatus comprising:
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a memory; means for performing layer 2 packet switching within a Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN); and means for examining a multicast content message; and means for identifying one or more outgoing ports of the apparatus based at least in part on; network layer information extracted from the multicast content message, the network layer information comprising a multicast group address comprising a destination Internet Protocol (IP) address; and forwarding information stored in one or more memories of the apparatus, the forwarding information previously generated based on examination, by the apparatus, of multicast control messages exchanged by multicast routers in the VLAN, the identifying for use in forwarding the multicast content message towards the one or more outgoing ports, the forwarding information comprising information for identifying the one or more outgoing ports based at least in part on the multicast group address.
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20. A nontransitory program storage device readable by a computer, embodying a program of instructions executable by the computer to perform a method, the method comprising:
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by a network device configured to perform layer 2 packet switching within a Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN), examining a multicast content message; and identifying one or more outgoing ports of the device based at least in part on; network layer information extracted from the multicast content message, the network layer information comprising a multicast group address comprising a destination Internet Protocol (IP) address; and forwarding information stored in one or more memories of the network device, the forwarding information previously generated based on examination, by the device, of multicast control messages exchanged by multicast routers in the VLAN, the identifying for use in forwarding the multicast content message from the incoming port towards the one or more outgoing ports, the forwarding information comprising information for identifying the one or more outgoing ports based at least in part on the multicast group address.
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21. A method comprising:
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by a network device configured to perform layer 2 packet switching within a Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN), examining a multicast content message; and identifying one or more outgoing ports of the device based at least in part on; network layer information extracted from the multicast content message, the network layer information comprising a multicast group address comprising a destination Internet Protocol (IP) address for neighboring multicast routers; and forwarding information stored in one or more memories of the network device, the forwarding information previously generated based on examination, by the device, of multicast control messages exchanged by multicast routers in the VLAN, the identifying for use in forwarding the multicast content message towards the one or more outgoing ports, the forwarding information comprising information for identifying the one or more outgoing ports based at least in part on; a source address; a destination address; and an incoming port. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. An apparatus comprising:
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a memory, the apparatus configured to perform layer 2 packet switching within a Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN); and one or more processors configured to; examine a multicast content message; and identify one or more outgoing ports of the apparatus based at least in part on; network layer information extracted from the multicast content message, the network layer information comprising a multicast group address comprising a destination Internet Protocol (IP) address for neighboring multicast routers; and forwarding information stored in one or more memories of the apparatus, the forwarding information previously generated based on examination, by the apparatus, of multicast control messages exchanged by multicast routers in the VLAN, the identifying for use in forwarding the multicast content message towards the one or more outgoing ports, the forwarding information comprising information for identifying the one or more outgoing ports based at least in part on; a source address; a destination address; and an incoming port. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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40. An apparatus comprising:
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a memory; means for performing layer 2 packet switching within a Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN); and means for examining a multicast content message; and means for identifying one or more outgoing ports of the device based at least in part on; network layer information extracted from the multicast content message, the network layer information comprising a multicast group address comprising a destination Internet Protocol (IP) address for neighboring multicast routers; and forwarding information stored in one or more memories of the apparatus, the forwarding information previously generated based on examination, by the apparatus, of multicast control messages exchanged by multicast routers in the VLAN, the identifying for use in forwarding the multicast content message towards the one or more outgoing ports, the forwarding information comprising information for identifying the one or more outgoing ports based at least in part on; a source address; a destination address; and an incoming port.
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41. A nontransitory program storage device readable by a computer, embodying a program of instructions executable by the computer to perform a method, the method comprising:
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by a network device configured to perform layer 2 packet switching within a Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN), examining a multicast content message; and identifying one or more outgoing ports of the device based at least in part on; network layer information extracted from the multicast content message, the network layer information comprising a multicast group address comprising a destination Internet Protocol (IP) address for neighboring multicast routers; and forwarding information stored in one or more memories of the network device, the forwarding information previously generated based on examination, by the device, of multicast control messages exchanged by multicast routers in the VLAN, the identifying for use in forwarding the multicast content message towards the one or more outgoing ports, the forwarding information comprising information for identifying the one or more outgoing ports based at least in part on; a source address; a destination address; and an incoming port.
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Specification