Patent ID: 8503446
Filing Date: 2013-08-06
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A method of tracking multicast subscription of distributed multicast devices in an Internet Protocol (IP) multicast implementation having an Internet Group Membership Protocol (IGMP) router connected to a network, a Network Management System (NMS) connected to the network, and a plurality of multicast devices connected to the IGMP router, the method comprising: receiving, at the IGMP router from the NMS, a multicast group access privilege associated with each of the plurality of multicast devices; storing, at the IGMP router, a subscription record associated with each of the plurality of multicast devices; receiving, at the IGMP router, a multicast group access request from a sending multicast device of the plurality of multicast devices, said multicast group access request identifying a requested multicast channel and identifying the sending multicast device; determining whether the sending multicast device is authorized to access the requested multicast channel based on the multicast group access privilege associated with the sending multicast device; if the sending multicast device is authorized to access the requested multicast channel: wherein the multicast group access privilege associated with the sending multicast device indicates: which channels the sending multicast device is allowed to request; and the number of channels the sending multicast device is allowed to simultaneously receive.