A hierarchical approach to multicast in a datagram internetwork
By:  Robert J. Voigt
Publisher: Naval Postgraduate School; Available from National Technical Information Service
Published: 1996
Place of publication: Monterey, Calif; Springfield, Va
Language: eng
Number of pages: 142
Description: Multicasting in datagram internetworks enables multi-party interactions among users distributed over wide areas by eliminating duplicate packets in one-to-many and many-to-many communication. It requires formation of a tree to distribute multicast data to the communicating group of members. Present multicast techniques need improvement in scope control, resource discovery mechanisms, and tree construction to efficiently support a large number of global groups with dense as well as sparse membership. We deploy a hierarchy of clustered routers with the following features to make these improvements. Each group is assigned a scope level enabling access to resources at that level when members join and permits well-defined boundaries for scope control. The list of border routers and presence of groups at any level is maintained and supplied to members by a level-specific resource discovery mechanism called a registrar. To make tree construction scalable, the border routers determine the shortest inter-cluster paths to source clusters using the available unicast routing information, facilitator aggregation of router state for all senders in a cluster. Unlike the existing approaches, administrative configuration of the hierarchy eliminates the need for locating distribution centers dynamically.
Notes: Dissertation supervisor(s): S.B. Shukla.

"March 1996."

Dissertation (Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering) Naval Postgraduate School, March 1996.

Bibliography: p. 135-139.

Approved for public release; distribution unlimited.

Also available online.

NSF-RIA-9309316

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