Multicast VLAN Tag Segregation in Ethernet MAN
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Solution Overview
Problem
In Ethernet Metropolitan Area Networks (E-MAN), multicast traffic duplication occurs due to unique VLAN tags for each customer, leading to bandwidth inefficiency when providing multicast services alongside residential Internet access, as IGMP snooping fails to segregate traffic effectively across different service providers.
Innovation Solution
Introducing a separate multicast-VLAN tag at the metro access node, which is used by BRAS or edge routers for downstream multicast traffic, allowing for segregation and prevention of duplication by associating the tag with specific access servers or edge routers, and using IGMP snooping to determine the correct ports for multicast message delivery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If IGMP snooping is used to achieve bandwidth efficiency for multicast traffic, then bandwidth efficiency is improved, but customer segregation is lost due to traffic duplication across VLANs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments multicast traffic by creating separate multicast VLANs for different service providers. Each service provider's multicast traffic is assigned to a dedicated multicast VLAN, preventing traffic duplication across customer VLANs while maintaining customer segregation. This resolves the contradiction by enabling IGMP snooping to work effectively within each segmented multicast VLAN without causing cross-customer traffic leakage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a multicast VLAN as an intermediary layer between service providers and customer VLANs. Instead of allowing direct multicast traffic flow across all customer VLANs, the multicast VLAN acts as a mediator that receives multicast traffic from service providers and distributes it only to authorized customer VLANs through controlled access points, thereby maintaining both bandwidth efficiency and customer segregation.
2Reliability
If separate VLAN tags are used for each customer to maintain security and segregation, then customer segregation is improved, but multicast traffic duplication occurs leading to bandwidth inefficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the network into customer-specific VLANs and provider-specific multicast VLANs. By creating separate multicast VLANs for each service provider rather than allowing multicast traffic to flood across all customer VLANs, the system maintains customer segregation while eliminating unnecessary traffic duplication. Each customer VLAN only receives multicast traffic from its authorized service provider through the segmented multicast VLAN structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds a new dimension to VLAN tagging by introducing multicast-specific VLAN tags that are distinct from customer VLAN tags. This dimensional separation allows the network to simultaneously maintain customer segregation through customer VLAN tags while enabling efficient multicast delivery through multicast VLAN tags, resolving the bandwidth inefficiency caused by traffic duplication.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multicast traffic is sent to all VLANs to ensure delivery to all potential recipients, then multicast service coverage is improved, but bandwidth is wasted due to unnecessary traffic to uninterested VLANs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by allowing different multicast VLANs to have different traffic characteristics and access permissions tailored to specific service providers and their customer bases. Each multicast VLAN is configured with local access control that permits only authorized customer VLANs to receive traffic from that specific multicast VLAN, ensuring that multicast service coverage is maintained for authorized recipients while preventing bandwidth waste to uninterested VLANs.
Data Source
AI summary
Method and apparatuses for directing multicast traffic in an Ethernet network include sending a multicast message upstream to a metro access node, performing IGMP snooping at the metro access node and assigning a multicast VLAN tag to the multicast message, performing IGMP snooping at an Ethernet switch disposed upstream to determine each port used for a corresponding multicast group address and multicast VLAN tag associated with the multicast group address, receiving the multicast message at an access server or edge router and sending the multicast message including the multicast group address and the multicast VLAN tag, downstream to a port based on that information, thereby avoiding duplication of the multicast message to another port other than the port associated with the multicast VLAN tag.