Patent ID: 8040824

Claim:
A method for constructing an overlay multicast tree to deliver data from a source to an identified group of nodes, the method comprising: identifying a plurality of nodes; mapping the nodes into multidimensional space; constructing a geometric region comprising the nodes, the geometric region comprising a grid comprising a plurality of cells arranged in concentric rings; creating a tree beginning at the source and including all of the nodes within the geometric region by: selecting a representative node for each cell containing at least one node and connecting first to the representative nodes; selecting a second node in the same cell to connect to additional nodes in the cell, for cells containing three or more nodes one of which is the representative node; and selecting a third node in the cell to connect to the representative nodes in at least two cells in an outer ring of the concentric rings; and using the created tree as the overlay multicast tree to deliver data from the source comprising a provider of a given service to an identified group of nodes comprising subscribers having access to the given service.