Patent ID: 8189584

Claim:
A method of filtering multicast packets in a network interface situated between and coupled to a multicast data network and a bus of a computer system, the computer system having a first memory, the method comprising: storing for the network interface and a multicast group address information in the first memory for the purpose of enabling or disabling transmission through the network interface to the bus of the computer system multicast packets sent from sources using the multicast group address, the information comprising first data that identifies the network interface, second data that identifies the multicast group address, third data that denotes an INCLUDE filter-mode or an EXCLUDE filter-mode, and fourth data that identifies a source-list of zero or more IP source addresses, the network interface accessing the second, third and fourth data, receiving in the network interface a multicast packet from the multicast data network, determining in the network interface the multicast group address and IP source address of the multicast packet, determining in the network interface if transmission of the multicast packet from the network interface to the bus is to be enabled or disabled by comparing the multicast group address and the IP source address of the multicast packet with the accessed second, third and fourth data; and upon determining that the transmission of the multicast packet is to be enabled, the network interface transmitting the multicast packet to the bus, or upon determining that the transmission of the multicast packet is to be disabled, the network interface not transmitting the multicast packet to the bus; wherein the network interface never transmits to the bus a set of selected multicast packets irrespective of the accessed second, third and fourth data.