Method and apparatus for multicast forwarding
US7639685B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 22, 2006 |
| Grant date | Dec 29, 2009 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 16, 2027 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04L12/18
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method or corresponding apparatus in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention determines how many copies of a multicast packet are to be sent, as copies, to multiple destinations based on information in the multicast packet and a group (e.g., bridge node) with which the packet is associated. The copies of the multicast packets are then generated. After generating the copies, an action to take for each copy is determined. This determination is made using the information in the multicast packet and based on the group with which the packet is associated. After the action is determined for each copy, the action is performed on each copy. Through use of an embodiment of the present invention, memory space is conserved, allowing for continued use of a device in a multicast environment of an ever growing network, such as the Internet.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.