Multicast Controller Assigning Groups to Shared Routing Trees
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Solution Overview
Problem
In large networks with a high number of groups, the limited availability of multicast resources in switches leads to data flooding, increasing network bandwidth consumption and processing load on unintended target network entities, as switches may not have sufficient multicast table entries to support all groups using multicasting.
Innovation Solution
A multicast controller that is network topology-aware assigns selected groups to multicast routing trees, optimizing the use of multicast resources and allowing groups to share routing trees, thereby reducing overall network traffic and processing load by determining the most cost-effective assignment of groups to either multicast routing trees or unicast addresses based on available resources and traffic rates.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If switches allocate multicast table entries to support all groups using multicasting, then multicast communication efficiency is improved, but switch resource capacity is exceeded leading to data flooding
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple multicast groups onto shared routing trees when resource constraints prevent dedicated routing trees for each group. The multicast controller dynamically determines which groups can share routing trees based on available switch resources, allowing groups to be combined on the same routing infrastructure to optimize resource utilization while maintaining multicast efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically changes the assignment parameters of multicast groups to routing trees based on available switch resources. When resource capacity changes, the multicast controller re-evaluates and re-assigns groups to different routing trees or unicast addresses, adjusting the configuration parameters to match current resource availability and prevent data flooding.
2Reliability
If switches support all groups with dedicated multicast routing, then data transmission reliability is improved, but network bandwidth consumption increases due to data flooding
Solution Approach 1:
The multicast controller implements feedback mechanisms by continuously monitoring switch resource utilization and multicast group performance. Based on this feedback, the controller dynamically adjusts group assignments to routing trees or unicast addresses, ensuring reliable data transmission while optimizing network bandwidth consumption by preventing data flooding when resources are constrained.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts multicast group assignments based on real-time network conditions and resource availability. Groups can be moved between dedicated routing trees, shared routing trees, or unicast addresses depending on current switch capacity, allowing the system to maintain transmission reliability while adapting bandwidth consumption to available resources.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the system uses unicast for all groups, then switch resource constraints are eliminated, but network bandwidth consumption and processing load increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of applying unicast to all groups, the system applies multicast selectively to groups that can be supported by available switch resources. Groups are assigned to multicast routing trees when resources permit, providing efficient multicasting, while only groups exceeding resource capacity are assigned to unicast, achieving partial action that balances resource constraints with bandwidth efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
Selected ones of multiple groups of network entities are assigned to corresponding routing structures, where each of the routing structures defines a set of paths through a network among network entities of a corresponding one of the groups. The assigning considers available multicast resources in communication nodes in the network, and a criterion relating to reducing overall cost in the assignment of the selected groups to the corresponding routing structures.