Patent ID: 7978698

Claim:
A terminal for communicating with one or more relay devices of a plurality of relay devices via one or more transmission paths of a plurality of transmission paths of at least one communication medium, the terminal comprising: a transmission/reception section for receiving a packet; a control unit for (i) evaluating characteristics of a each transmission path, of the plurality of transmission paths, located between the terminal and the one or more relay devices, (ii) setting, based on the evaluated characteristics of each transmission path located between the terminal and the one or more relay devices, a respective transmission parameter indicating at least one of a transmittable information amount per a predetermined time length and an error correction strength for each transmission path located between the terminal and the one or more relay devices, and (iii) replicating the packet received by the transmission/reception section by a number equal to a number of one or more groups into which each transmission path located between the terminal and the one or more relay devices is classified, to obtain a plurality of replicated packets; and a transfer management section for classifying each transmission path located between the terminal and the one or more relay devices into the one or more groups based on a similarity of the respective transmission parameter of each transmission path located between the terminal and the one or more relay devices, so as to obtain the number of the one or more groups into which each transmission path located between the terminal and the one or more relay devices is classified, and such that a similar transmission parameter is designated for each of the one or more groups, each transmission path located between the terminal and the one or more relay devices being for transmitting the plurality of replicated packets as a multicast packet, wherein the transmission/reception section sends each of the plurality of replicated packets to a respective group of the one or more groups into which each transmission path located between the terminal and the one or more relay devices is classified, as a unit, based on the similar transmission parameter designated for each of the one or more groups.