Patent ID: 8064449

Claim:
A multicast router having one or more downstream network interfaces and situated in a data network system between sources that send multicast packets having as a destination IP address a multicast group address and hosts that request multicast data from the sources, the multicast router configured to communicate with the hosts via a communications protocol based on the IGMP (Internet Group Management Protocol) or the MLD (Multicast Listener Discovery) protocol and storing within a storage medium executable instructions that when executed in the multicast router read information contained in one or more multicast data requests made by the hosts that requests multicast data from the sources and generates from the information for each combination of downstream network interface, multicast group address and host that requests the multicast data an INCLUDE source record or an EXCLUDE source record, the INCLUDE source record or EXCLUDE source record generated to be devoid of source timers and to comprise identifying information of the network interface through which the multicast router has received the multicast data request, the multicast group address from which the multicast data has been requested, identity data of the host from which the multicast data request has been received, and source address information of the source from which the multicast data has been requested.