System and method for amicable small group multicast in a packet-switched network
US6757294B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 13, 2000 |
| Grant date | Jun 29, 2004 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 13, 2020 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04L45/16
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method (and system) of creating a multicast packet by a source node in a world-wide network, includes providing each multicast packet with a predetermined indicator indicating that the packet includes a multicast packet, one of a plurality of multicast destinations being placed in a packet destination field and a list of remaining multicast destinations being provided in a packet header. A conventional router receiving a multicast packet handles it as a unicast packet and routes it in a conventional manner. A multicast-capable router receiving a multicast packet goes through a packet regeneration and routing process, creating multicast packets and/or unicast packets and then routing them using the conventional routing table. A destination node receiving a multicast packet goes through the packet regeneration and forwarding process, creating a multicast or unicast packet depending on the number of destinations in the received multicast packet and bouncing back the regenerated packet to the router to which the node is attached.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.