Multicast Group Object Tracking for Bandwidth Admission Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
The separation between IGMP and RMR in multicast replication systems leads to difficulties in monitoring system behavior, tracking multicast bandwidth usage, and managing call admission control, resulting in inefficiencies and increased overhead signaling.
Innovation Solution
Creating group objects on each subscriber circuit instead of the RMR circuit allows for accurate tracking of multicast bandwidth and subscriber-level admission control, enabling efficient management of multicast streams and reducing unnecessary signaling by sending IGMP queries only on the relevant subscriber circuit.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If group objects are created only on the RMR circuit, then the system reduces infrastructure requirements by using remote multicast replication, but operators cannot monitor all groups associated with a subscriber and cannot track multicast bandwidth usage at the subscriber level
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the group object creation process by creating group objects on both the RMR circuit and the subscriber circuit. This segmentation allows the system to maintain the infrastructure benefits of RMR while also enabling subscriber-level monitoring and bandwidth tracking. The dual creation approach divides the functionality between centralised stream management and distributed monitoring capabilities.
2Reliability
If IGMP queries are sent on the RMR circuit to all hosts for a group, then the system can determine if there are other interested hosts, but it generates unnecessary responses from hosts not on the subscriber circuit and increases signaling overhead
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by sending IGMP queries only on the specific subscriber circuit where a leave was received, rather than broadcasting to all hosts on the RMR circuit. This localized approach ensures that only relevant hosts respond, reducing unnecessary signaling overhead while maintaining reliable determination of host interest. Each subscriber circuit is treated with differentiated query handling based on local events.
3Ease of operation
If the connection between requesting the stream and generating the stream is broken by putting an RMR interface between the access node and the router, then stream management can be simplified, but it becomes difficult for operators to measure and analyze system behavior and assess faults
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces the group object on the subscriber circuit as an intermediary that bridges the separation between stream requesting and stream generating. This intermediary maintains the simplified stream management benefits of RMR while providing operators with visible group objects and bandwidth information on subscriber circuits, enabling measurement and analysis of system behavior despite the RMR interface separation.
Data Source
AI summary
A router is coupled to sources of multicast streams and to multicast consumer hosts through one or more network elements, for managing multicast streams sent to hosts through the one or more network elements using subscriber circuits. The interface between the router and the network elements includes, but is not limited to, a remote multicast replication interface. Reports are received from a host on a subscriber circuit. The subscriber circuit is coupled between the router and the host. The report indicates a request to receive a multicast stream that is associated with a group object. A reference counter associated with the group object is incremented and the requested multicast stream is added to a remote multicast replication circuit if the reference counter transitions from zero upon incrementing.