Patent ID: 6457059
Filing Date: 2002-09-24
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
A communication control device, connected to at least two multicast routers and a plurality of host devices, for controlling packet communications between one of said at least two multicast routers and said plurality of host devices, said communication control device comprising:a packet determining unit for determining contents of each of received packets; a table constructing unit for constructing a table, when it is determined by said packet determining unit that some of said received packets are packets on a multicast and multicast group management protocol, said table showing a correlation between at least two host devices and at least two multicast groups according to said some of received packets; and a control unit for controlling packet transfer for each multicast group between one of at least two multicast routers and host devices according to said table constructed by said table constructing unit, each of said received packets being transferred through said control unit directly to intended host devices; wherein said table constructing unit registers, when it is determined that one of said received packets on the multicast and multicast group management protocol is a query to ask a host device to become a member of a multicast group, a port having received said one of received packets on a query among a plurality of ports in said table as a port to which one of said multicast routers is connected, and said control unit provides controls for transferring, when a packet on a report that a host device desires to become a member of a multicast group is received, said packet on the report only to said ports to which said at least two multicast routers are connected by referring to said table.