Method of routing multicast traffic

• US 8,611,252 B2
• Filed: 07/25/2012
• Issued: 12/17/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/09/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Cai, Yiqun, Vicisano, Lorenzo, Boers, Arjen, Alvarez, Daniel A., Eckert, Toerless
• Primary Examiner(s): BLANTON, JOHN D
• Application Number:
  US13/558,073
• Publication Number:
  US 20120294309A1
• Time in Patent Office: 510 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/254
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/18 for broadcast or conference , e.g. multicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4641 Virtual LANs, VLANs, e.g. virtual private networks [VPN] LAN interconnection over a bridge based backbone H04L12/462; encapsulation techniques H04L12/4633; routing of packets H04L45/00; packet switches H04L49/00; virtual private networks for security H04L63/0272
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/028 Dynamic adaptation of the update intervals, e.g. event-triggered updates
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/16 Multipoint routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/36 Backward learning
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/54 Organization of routing tables
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/745 Address table lookup; Address filtering

Abstract

A method of routing multicast traffic in a computer network is disclosed. The method comprises associating a plurality of multicast group addresses on a network device with respective multicast routing topologies. A network device and a network are also disclosed.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving a multicast data packet at a network device;

identifying a multicast group address of the multicast data packet;

identifying which one of a plurality of multicast routing tables on the network device is associated with the identified multicast group address, each of the plurality of multicast routing tables being associated with a respective one of a plurality of multicast group addresses, each multicast routing table indicating a respective one of a plurality of multicast routing topologies; and

routing the multicast data packet to the identified multicast group address in accordance with a particular multicast routing topology indicated by the identified multicast routing table.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising performing a RPF (Reverse Path Forwarding) check using a multicast source address of the multicast data packet, the routing of the multicast data packet being conditional upon passing the RPF check.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the RPF check is performed using a unicast routing table in accordance with the particular associated multicast topology.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of multicast routing topologies span multiple autonomous routing domains.

5. The method of claim 4, in which the multiple autonomous routing domains comprise multicast virtual private networks.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein at least two of the virtual private networks have different multicast topologies indicated by respective multicast routing tables on the network device.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the network device is a router.

8. A method of routing multicast traffic in a computer network, the method comprising, at a routing device, routing multicast packets to each of a plurality of multicast group addresses in accordance with an associated one of a plurality of multicast routing topologies, the plurality of multicast routing topologies being indicated by respective multicast routing tables on the routing device.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the routing comprises identifying a particular multicast routing topology for a multicast data packet based on a multicast group address of the multicast packet.

10. A network device to route multicast traffic in a computer network, the network device comprising:

a network interface device to receive receiving a multicast data packet at a network device;

an address reader module to identify a multicast group address of the multicast data packet; and

a determination module to identify which one of a plurality of multicast routing tables on the network device is associated with the identified multicast group address, each of the plurality of multicast routing tables being associated with a respective one of a plurality of multicast group addresses, each multicast routing table indicating a respective one of a plurality of multicast routing topologies, to enable routing of the multicast data packet to the identified multicast group address in accordance with a particular multicast routing topology indicated by the identified multicast routing table.

11. The network device of claim 10, further comprising a Reverse Path Forwarding (RPF) module to route the multicast data packet to the identified multicast group address in accordance with the particular multicast routing topology.

12. The network device of claim 11, wherein the RPF module is configured to perform a RPF check using a multicast source address of the multicast data packet, the routing of the multicast data packet being conditional upon passing the RPF check.

13. The network device of claim 10, wherein the plurality of multicast routing topologies span multiple autonomous routing domains.

14. The network device of claim 13, wherein the multiple autonomous routing domains comprise multicast virtual private networks.

15. The network device of claim 14, wherein at least two of the virtual private networks have different multicast topologies indicated by respective multicast routing tables on the network device.