Patent ID: 8416778

Claim:
A method for transmitting multicast data packets from a multicast snooping switch, the method comprising: a. the multicast snooping switch receiving, via one or more ports, multicast data requests made by a host; b. the multicast snooping switch reading information data contained in the multicast data requests; c. the multicast snooping switch storing state data based on the information data contained in the multicast data requests for a first port, a first multicast group address, and the host requesting multicast data of the first multicast group address from the first port, the state data comprising: i. an INCLUDE state record, the INCLUDE state record comprising identifying data of the first port, identifying data of the first multicast group, identifying data of the host, a source list comprising source IP addresses and a source-timer associated with each source IP address, and an INCLUDE filter mode designator; or ii. an EXCLUDE state record, the EXCLUDE state record comprising identifying data of the first port, identifying data of the first multicast group address, identifying data of the host, a source list comprising a requested list having source IP addresses with an associated source-timer having a value greater than zero and an exclude list comprising source IP addresses with an associated source-timer of value zero, and an EXCLUDE filter mode designator; d. the multicast snooping switch storing one or more of the INCLUDE state records for the first port and the first multicast group address; and e. the multicast snooping switch transmitting through the first port, at least the multicast data packets which have as a destination IP address the first multicast group address and which have as a source IP address any source IP address from the union of all the source lists stored in the INCLUDE state records of the first port and the first multicast group address and having a source-timer greater than zero.