Patent ID: 8116312

Claim:
A method for establishing filtering for incoming data packets to be received from a network, for use with a network interface device by a host system having an operating system having a network protocol stack, comprising the steps of: receiving a first request for a first user level endpoint to join a first multicast group; programming the network interface device to deliver future incoming data packets of the first multicast group to the first user level endpoint in a manner that at least part of a header of the future incoming data packets, including an identification of at least one of the first multicast group and the first user level endpoint, bypasses the operating system network protocol stack, receiving, while the first user level endpoint remains a member of the first multicast group, a second request for a second user level endpoint to join a second multicast group; and programming the network interface device to deliver future incoming data packets of the second multicast group to the second user level endpoint in a manner that at least part of a header of future incoming data packets of the second multicast group, including an identification of at least one of the second multicast group and the second user level endpoint, bypasses the operating system network protocol stack.