Multicast-only thin DODAG in low power and lossy network

An apparatus implemented as a physical machine, the apparatus comprising:

• non-transitory machine readable media configured for storing executable machine readable code, wherein the apparatus is implemented as network device;
• a device interface circuit;
• and
• a processor circuit configured for executing the machine readable code, and when executing the machine readable code operable for:
• generating a destination oriented directed acyclic graph (DODAG) that is rooted by the network device, the generating of the DODAG based on outputting an instruction implementing multicast communication in the DODAG, and
• multicasting a targeted packet that is destined for at least one targeted member device of the DODAG, the targeted packet causing sequential unicast communications in the DODAG,
• wherein the targeted packet causes a router device in the DODAG to establish a unicast route for reaching the destination device within a prescribed limited number of hops, and
• wherein the targeted packet is a unicast packet specifying a destination address encapsulated within a multicast packet specifying a multicast address, the at least one targeted member device operating as a destination device and processing the unicast packet in response to detecting the destination address associated with the destination device.

One or more non-transitory tangible media encoded with logic for execution by a machine and when executed by the machine operable for:

• generating, by the machine implemented as a network device, a destination oriented directed acyclic graph (DODAG) that is rooted by the network device, the generating of the DODAG based on outputting an instruction implementing multicast communication in the DODAG;
• and
• multicasting a targeted packet that is destined for at least one targeted member device of the DODAG, the targeted packet causing sequential unicast communications in the DODAG,
• wherein the targeted packet causes a router device in the DODAG to establish a unicast route for reaching the destination device within a prescribed limited number of hops, and
• wherein the targeted packet is a unicast packet specifying a destination address encapsulated within a multicast packet specifying a multicast address, the at least one targeted member device operating as a destination device and processing the unicast packet in response to detecting the destination address associated with the destination device.