IP multicast management and service provision system and method
US8441963B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 29, 2005 |
| Grant date | May 14, 2013 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 10, 2030 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04N21/6405
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A system (10), method (90) and apparatus (14) are provided for provisioning a multicast stream, such as an IP multicast stream, in a network. The system includes a first tier (12), such as a national backbone, with a first Multicast Address Discovery (MCAD) directory (34), and at least one second tier having a headend, such as a regional headend (14), with a second MCAD directory (36, 38). The system (10) includes a tiered MCAD directory network that allows the assignment of multicast addresses to multicast streams received from an upper tier MCAD directory. The tiered MCAD directory structure allows for requesting and storing stream descriptors and delivering stream descriptors on-demand to MCAD-enabled devices throughout the system. The system (10) also allows for stream provisioning maintenance and validation at lower tier headends via MCAD-enabled device queries or re-queries of upper tier MCAD directories.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.