A Method of and Devices for Supporting Selective Forwarding of Messages in a Network of Communicatively Coupled Communication Devices

A method, performed by a gateway device, to support selective forwarding of messages published to one of a group address and a virtual address in a network of communicatively coupled communication devices each having a unique unicast address, said gateway device comprising a plurality of network interfaces arranged for receiving and transmitting messages in said network and for communicatively coupling to a configuration client, said configuration client being arranged for maintaining unicast addresses of said communication devices in said network and a mapping between unicast addresses and at least one of a group address and a virtual address of communication devices in said network, said method comprising the steps of:

• receiving, over a network interface, a message published to a group address or a virtual address;
• retrieving, based on said mapping, unicast addresses of all communication devices collectively identified by said group address or said virtual address to which the message was published;
• determining, based on said retrieved unicast addresses, that all said communication devices are serviced by said gateway device, and
• sending the received message on all interfaces corresponding to said communication devices addressed by said retrieved unicast addresses.

A gateway device arranged for supporting selective forwarding of messages published to one of a group address and a virtual address in a network of communicatively coupled communication devices each having a unique unicast address, said gateway device comprising:

• a plurality of network interfaces arranged for receiving and transmitting messages in said network and for communicatively coupling of said gateway device to a configuration client arranged for maintaining said unicast addresses of communication devices and a mapping between unicast addresses of communication devices and at least one of a group address and a virtual address of said communication devices in said network;
• a processor operatively coupled to the network interfaces;
• and
• a non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, configure the gateway device to:
• receive, over a network interface, a message published to a group address or a virtual address;
• retrieve, based on said mapping by said configuration client, unicast addresses of all communication devices collectively identified by said group or said virtual address in said received message;
• determine, based on said retrieved unicast addresses, that all said communication devices are serviced by said gateway device, and
• transmit said received message on all interfaces corresponding to said communication devices addressed by said retrieved unicast addresses.

A configuration client arranged for supporting selective forwarding of messages published to one of a group address and a virtual address in a network of communicatively coupled communication devices, each having a unique unicast address, serviced by a gateway device, said configuration client comprising:

• a database arranged to maintain:
• unicast addresses of said communication devices in said network;
• and
• a mapping between said unicast addresses and at least one of a group address and a virtual address of the communication devices;
• a network interface arranged for communication with said gateway device;
• a processor operatively coupled to the database and the network interface;
• and
• a non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, configure the gateway device to:
• receive, from said gateway device, a request message comprising a group address or a virtual address, said request message requesting unicast addresses of communication devices collectively addressed by said group address or virtual address, and
• forward, to said gateway device based on said mapping, unicast addresses of communication devices collectively addressed by said group address or virtual address in said received message.