Patent ID: 8824467
Filing Date: 2014-09-02
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A system for controlling multicast bandwidth, comprising: memory for storing network protocol data indicative of network transmission rates and network packet sizes for a plurality of multicast streams; communication circuitry coupled to a subscriber link and configured to transmit packets across the subscriber link using a layer 1 protocol and a layer 2 protocol; a control element configured to receive a loin request identifying one of the multicast streams; logic configured to automatically determine, based on the network transmission rate and the network packet size for the one multicast stream indicated by the network protocol data, a value indicative of an actual transmission rate for transmitting the one multicast stream, including overhead for the layer 1 and layer 2 protocols, across the subscriber link, wherein the actual transmission rate is greater than the network transmission rate; and an element management system (EMS) configured to manage a plurality of nodes of a network, wherein one of the nodes comprises the communication circuitry, wherein the EMS is located remotely from the one node and the control element, wherein the control element is configured to transmit a request to the EMS in response to the join request, wherein the EMS is configured to receive the value from the logic and to transmit the value to the control element in response to the request transmitted by the control element, and wherein the control element is configured to accept or deny the join request based on the value.