Method and apparatus for multicast tree allocation
Authors
Abstract
The next generation of networks is envisioned to provide real-time multi-user communication services, such as IPTV, radio, file distribution and push media, where the content can be distributed simultaneously to groups of users, independent of the connectivity control schemes supported inside or between networks along the distribution path. The accommodation of a high number of multi-user sessions simultaneously requires implementing control schemes to efficiently provision the network with enough resources in order to ensure their continuity along their entire lifetime. However, on-demand and per-flow approaches may jeopardize the network scalability by introducing excessive signalling and state overhead.The Advanced Aggregation Tree Allocation (AGTree) approach aggregates distribution trees in networks with heterogeneous connectivity schemes (unicast/multicast) in order to save the network resources by avoiding on-demand per-flow signalling and operation. AGTree controls both, the allocation of session-flows into aggregation trees and dynamic switching among them inside the network. The system performance is optimized by pushing the complex resource control operations to the border routers, leaving the core routers simple.