Packet relay apparatus
AssigneeAlaxala Networks Corporation
InventorShinsuke SUZUKI
Life of this patent
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Abstract
In a first-hop router, a reachability monitor monitors RP (Rendezvous-Point) reachability, and the number of times when a response time is not shorter than a predetermined time is stored in a RP management table. An RP selection process controls not to select RP whose reachability from the first-hop router is not stable, so that PIM Register transmission to an unstable RP is suppressed.
Claims10
A relay apparatus for performing multicast communications in PIM-SM (Protocol Independent Multicast Sparse-Mode), the relay apparatus being connected to at least one RP (Rendezvous-Point) via a network and accommodating a transmission terminal of a multicast packet, comprising:
- a line for receiving a multicast packet from said transmission terminal;
- a multicast packet relay processor for searching a route of said multicast packet in accordance with a multicast address of said received multicast packet;
- a memory for storing an RP management table storing a correspondence between a multicast address and an RP address;
- an RP reachability monitor for monitoring reachability by transmitting a ping packet to said RP and storing monitor results RP in said RP management table in said memory;
- and
- a PIM-SM route calculator for searching from said RP management table an RP address corresponding to the multicast address of said multicast packet received at said line, judging a monitor result of reachability of the searched RP address, and in accordance with the judgement, encapsulating said multicast packet into a unicast packet and transmitting said unicast packet to said RP having said searched RP address.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.