Multicast system using client forwarding

• US 8,830,955 B2
• Filed: 03/19/2010
• Issued: 09/09/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/06/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Interval Licensing LLC
• Original Assignee: Interval Licensing LLC
• Inventors: Lee, Michael, Regan, Matt, Smith, Geoff M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Phillips, Hassan
• Assistant Examiner(s): CATTUNGAL, AJAY P
• Application Number:
  US12/727,451
• Publication Number:
  US 20100172354A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,635 Days
• Field of Search: 370/254, 370/331, 370/338, 370/349, 370/351, 370/394, 370/389, 370/408, 370/411, 370/466, 370/401, 709/203, 709/224, 709/229, 709/226, 709/238, 709/239
• US Class Current: 370/331
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/185 with management of multicast group membership
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1854 with non-centralised forwarding system, e.g. chaincast

Abstract

A system and method are disclosed for multicasting information to a set of clients that includes transmitting the information to a primary client from a server and instructing the primary client to forward the information to a secondary client.

Claims

1. A method of redirecting a receiving multicast client from a failed information source comprising:

assigning by a computing device;

a first multicast client as a primary information source,

a second multicast client as a secondary source of the information, and

a receiving multicast client to receive the information from the primary information source;

receiving, via the computing device, a first message from the receiving multicast client,

wherein the first message indicates that the receiving multicast client is not receiving the information from the primary information source;

sending, via the computing device, a second message to the receiving multicast client to determine whether the receiving multicast client is the cause of the information not being received from the primary information source;

determining whether the receiving multicast client is the cause of the information not being received from the primary information source; and

in response to determining that the receiving multicast client is not the cause of the information not being received, sending via the computing device;

a third message to the second multicast client to;

indicate to the second multicast client that the second multicast client is a new primary information source for the receiving multicast client, and

indicate to the second multicast client to send the information to the receiving multicast client, and

a fourth message to the receiving multicast client to indicate to the receiving multicast client that the second multicast client is the receiving multicast client'"'"'s new primary information source.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising

flagging a set of secondary receiving multicast clients that are to receive the information from the receiving multicast client so that the receiving multicast client will not be failed in the event that a secondary receiving multicast client sends a message indicating that information is not being received.

3. The method of claim 1, further including:

sending a test message to the receiving client; and

in the event that a valid response to the test message is not received, failing the receiving client and sending a message to a set of secondary receiving clients that are to receive the information from the receiving client that directs the secondary receiving clients to receive information from a new source.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the new source is a dedicated backup server that reliably sends information to redirected clients.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the receiving client is capable of presenting the information to a user at the receiving client.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the receiving client is a personal computer.

5. A method of redirecting a receiving multicast client from an underperforming transmitting client, comprising:

receiving a message from the receiving multicast client indicating a rate that information is being received;

determining that the information rate falls below a performance standard;

determining that the receiving multicast client is not a cause of the information rate falling below the performance standard, based on a message received from the receiving multicast client that indicates that the receiving multicast client is not the cause of the information rate falling below the performance standard;

in response to determining that the receiving multicast client is not a cause of the information rate falling below a performance standard, sending;

a message to the receiving multicast client indicating a new source of the information; and

a message to the new source of the information directing the new source of the information to send the information to the receiving multicast client.

6. A method of multicasting information to a set of clients comprising:

determining a network location for each of the clients;

determining a performance parameter for each of the clients;

constructing a data topology associated with the set of clients based on the performance parameter associated with each of the clients;

selecting, via a computing device, a subset of the clients to be primary clients and at least one client to be a receiving client, based on the performance parameter and the determined network location, the network location relating to the data topology;

sending, via the computing device, a message to the receiving client to determine whether the receiving client is a cause of information not being received from one of the primary clients;

determining whether the receiving client is the cause of the information not being received from the primary client;

in response to determining that the receiving client is not the cause of the information not being received, transmitting, via the computing device, a message to a primary client of the subset of primary clients directing that primary client to retransmit the information -to the receiving clients.

7. A method of forwarding information from a transmitting client to a receiving client in a multicast group comprising:

receiving, via the transmitting client, an instruction from a multicast server to forward information to the receiving client, based on;

one or more messages from the receiving client to the multicast server indicating that the receiving client has not received the information and

a determination that the receiving client is not the cause of the information not being received,

wherein the information includes a performance report for determining a performance parameter and a network location for the transmitting client and the receiving client, the network location relating to a data topology constructed by the multicast server based on the performance parameter associated with each client in the multicast group;

receiving the information; and

forwarding, via the transmitting device, the information to the receiving client, based on the instruction and the one or more messages that the receiving multicast client is not the cause of the information not being received.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising displaying the information to a user.

9. The method of claim 7, further comprising displaying the information to a user without positively indicating to the user that the information is being forwarded.

10. A system for multicasting information to a set of clients comprising:

a server configured to transmit the information to;

construct a data topology associated with the set of clients based on performance information associated with the set of clients, and

determine a primary client using performance information and a network location of the set of clients, the network location relating to the data topology; and

a primary client configured to receive the transmitted information and to forward the information to a secondary client, based on;

a message from the secondary client to the server indicating that the secondary client did not receive the information, and

a message from the secondary client to the server indicating that the secondary client is not the cause of the information not being received

a message from the server directing the primary client to forward the information to the secondary client,

where the message from the server directing the primary client to forward the information to the secondary client is in response to a determination by the server that the secondary client is not the cause of the information not being received.

13. A method of redirecting a receiving multicast client from a failed transmitting client comprising:

receiving, via a multicast server, a message from the receiving multicast client that information is not being received;

sending, via the multicast server, a message to the receiving multicast client to determine whether the receiving multicast client is the cause of the information not being received;

determining, via the multicast server, whether the receiving multicast client is the cause of the information not being;

in response to determining that the receiving multicast client is not the cause of the information not being received, sending, via the multicast server;

a message to the receiving multicast client indicating a new source of the information; and

a message to the new source of the information directing the new source of the information to send the information to the receiving multicast client.