Method and system of multicast routing for groups with a single transmitter
First Claim
1. A method for creating a multicast distribution tree in a computer system, comprising the steps of:
- transmitting, by a listener computer, coupled by a common network, to a first designated router, a join group request which includes a multicast address which contains a network number that identifies a particular network and which requests data from the particular network,scanning, by the first designated router, the forwarding table of the first designated router to locate the particular multicast request included in the join group request, to determine whether the first designated router is currently receiving data from the particular multicast address, and if not, thenscanning, by the first designated router, the routing table of the first designated router to locate the network number contained in the particular multicast address and a corresponding second designated router, coupled to a network common to that of the first designated router, for receiving data from the particular network, andrequesting, by the first designated router, transmission of data from the particular network through the second designated router.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method of implementing a multicast routing protocol in routers is provided to manage the assignment of multicast transport addresses and to forward data from a single transmitting endpoint to multiple receiving endpoints. This method in conjunction with a method for implementing the multicast routing protocol as a transport protocol layer service for endpoints provides an internet wide multicast transport service. The multicast transport service provides the capability of transmitting data from a single source to multiple receivers on interconnected networks efficiently and without having to send duplicate copies of the data on any single network. Routers and endpoints transmit and receive multicast packets in a manner which is independent of the network layer datagram protocols used by the multicast transport service. Multicast control packets are exchanged using a multicast transaction protocol which allows routers and endpoints to execute transactions in a manner that does not require either routers to know the state of specific endpoints or endpoints to know the state of specific routers.
266 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A method for creating a multicast distribution tree in a computer system, comprising the steps of:
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transmitting, by a listener computer, coupled by a common network, to a first designated router, a join group request which includes a multicast address which contains a network number that identifies a particular network and which requests data from the particular network, scanning, by the first designated router, the forwarding table of the first designated router to locate the particular multicast request included in the join group request, to determine whether the first designated router is currently receiving data from the particular multicast address, and if not, then scanning, by the first designated router, the routing table of the first designated router to locate the network number contained in the particular multicast address and a corresponding second designated router, coupled to a network common to that of the first designated router, for receiving data from the particular network, and requesting, by the first designated router, transmission of data from the particular network through the second designated router. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A method for multicasting data in a computer system, comprising the steps of:
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transmitting, by a source computer, a create request to a first designated router coupled to a first network common to the source computer; creating, by the first designated router, a multicast address corresponding to data transmitted by the source computer; and transmitting, by the source computer, data including said multicast address upon the first network. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. An apparatus for creating a multicast distribution tree, comprising:
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a common network; a designated router coupled to the common network; listener computer means, coupled to the common network, for transmitting, to the first designated router, a join group request which includes a multicast address which contains a network number that identifies a particular network and which requests data from the particular network; said first designated router including means for scanning the forwarding table of the first designated router to locate the particular multicast request included in the join group request to determine if the first designated router is receiving data from the particular multicast address; means for scanning a first routing table when the first designated router is not currently receiving data from the particular network, to locate the network number contained in the particular multicast address and a corresponding second designated router, coupled to a network common to that of the first designated router, for receiving data from the particular network; and means for requesting transmission of data from the particular network through the second designated router, if the first designated router is not currently receiving data from the particular network.
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Specification