Method and apparatus for routing and congestion control in multicast networks

An apparatus that distributes multicast data, comprising:

• circuitry configured to form a multicast repair tree including a sender, a plurality of heads, and a plurality of receivers, wherein at least one head is associated with the sender, and at least one receiver is associated with the at least one head;
• circuitry configured to send to the plurality of heads and to the plurality of receivers, a plurality of multicast messages at a data rate;
• circuitry configured to receive from one of the plurality of heads, a status associated with a receiver of the head;
• circuitry configured to slow the data rate in accordance with the status;
• and
• circuitry configured to signal, by the sender, the heads to monitor receivers for pruning candidates if predetermined criteria are satisfied.

An apparatus for distributing multicast data, comprising:

• means for forming a multicast repair tree including a sender, a plurality of head, and a plurality of receivers wherein at least one head is associated with the sender, and at least one receiver is associated with the at least one head;
• means for sending to the plurality of heads and to the plurality of receivers, a plurality of multicast messages having a data rate;
• means for receiving from one of the plurality of heads, a status associated with a receiver of the head;
• means for slowing the data rate in accordance with the status;
• and
• means for signaling, by the sender, the heads to monitor receivers for pruning candidates if predetermined criteria are satisfied.

A computer program product comprising:

• a computer usable medium having computer readable code embodied therein for distributing multicast data, the computer program product including:
• first computer readable program code devices configured to form a multicast repair tree including a sender, a plurality of heads, and a plurality of receivers wherein at least one head is associated with the sender, and at least one receiver is associated with the at least one head;
• second computer readable program code devices configured to send, by the sender to the plurality of heads and to the plurality of receivers, a plurality of multicast messages at a data rate;
• third computer readable program code devices configured to receive, by the sender from one of the plurality of heads, a status associated with a receiver of the head;
• fourth computer readable program code devices configured to slow the data rate, by the sender, in accordance with the status;
• and
• fifth computer readable program code devices configured to signal, by the sender, the heads to monitor receivers for pruning candidates if predetermined criteria are satisfied.

A computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave and representing sequences of instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to distribute multicast data by performing the steps of:

• executing a first computer program to form a multicast repair tree including a sender, a plurality of heads, and a plurality of receivers, wherein at least one head is associated with the sender, and at least one receiver is associated with the at least one head;
• executing a second computer program to send, by the sender to the plurality of heads and to the plurality of receivers, a plurality of multicast messages at a data rate;
• executing a third computer program to receive, by the sender from one of the plurality of heads, a status associated with a receiver of the head;
• executing a fourth computer program to slow the data rate, by the sender, in accordance with the status;
• and
• executing a fifth computer program to signal, by the sender, the heads to monitor receivers for pruning candidates if predetermined criteria are satisfied.

An apparatus that distributes multicast data, comprising:

• circuitry configured to receive a plurality of multicast messages from a sender at a data rate;
• circuitry configured to determine a receiver status;
• circuitry configured to send a congestion report to a head in accordance with the receiver status;
• and
• circuitry configured to receive a disowned message from the head in accordance with the congestion report.

An apparatus for distributing multicast data, comprising:

• means for receiving a plurality of multicast messages from a sender at a data rate;
• means for determining a receiver status;
• means for sending a congestion report to a head in accordance with the receiver status;
• and
• means for receiving a disowned message from the head in accordance with the congestion report.

A computer program product comprising:

• a computer usable medium having computer readable code embodied therein for distributing multicast data, the computer program product including:
• computer readable program code devices configured to receiv a plurality of multicast messages from a sender at a data rate;
• computer readable program code devices configured to determine a receiver status;
• computer readable program code devices configured to send a congestion report to a head in accordance with the receiver status;
• and
• computer readable program code devices configured to receive a disowned message from the head in accordance with the congestion report.

A computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave and representing sequences of instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to distribute multicast data by performing the steps of:

• executing a computer program to receive a plurality of multicast messages from a sender at a data rate;
• executing the computer program to determine a receiver status;
• executing the computer program to send a congestion report to a head in accordance with the receiver status;
• and
• executing the computer program to receive a disowned message from the head in accordance with the congestion report.

A method of distributing multicast data, performed by a data processor, comprising the steps of:

• sending a plurality of multicast messages at a data rate to a plurality of heads and to a plurality of receivers;
• receiving a status associated with a receiver of one of the plurality of heads;
• slowing the data rate in accordance with the status;
• nd
• signaling, by the sender, the heads to monitor receivers for pruning candidates if predetermined criteria are satisfied.

An apparatus that distributes multicast data, comprising:

• circuitry configured to send a plurality of multicast messages at a data rate to a plurality of heads and to a plurality of receivers;
• circuitry configured to receive a status associated with a receiver of one of the plurality of heads;
• circuitry configured to slow the data rate in accordance with the status;
• and
• circuitry configured to signal, by the sender, the heads to monitor receivers for pruning candidates if predetermined criteria are satisfied.

An apparatus for distributing multicast data, comprising:

• means for sending a plurality of multicast messages at a data rate to a plurality of heads and to a plurality of receivers;
• means for receiving a status associated with a receiver of one of the plurality of heads;
• means for slowing the data rate in accordance with the status;
• and
• means for signaling, by the sender, the heads to monitor receivers for pruning candidates if predetermined criteria are satisfied.

A computer program product comprising:

• a computer usable medium having computer readable code embodied therein for distributing multicast data, the computer program product including:
• computer readable program code devices configured to send a plurality of multicast messages at a data rate to a plurality of heads and to a plurality of receivers;
• computer readable program code devices configured to receive a status associated with a receiver of one of the plurality of heads;
• computer readable program code devices configured to slow the data rate in accordance with the status;
• and
• computer readable program code devices configured to signal, by the sender, the heads to monitor receivers for pruning candidates if predetermined criteria are satisfied.

A computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave and representing sequences of instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to distribute multicast data by performing the steps of:

• executing a computer program to send a plurality of multicast messages at a data rate to a plurality of heads and a plurality of receivers;
• executing the computer program to receive a status associated with a receiver of one of the plurality of heads;
• and
• executing the computer program to slow the data rate in accordance with the status;
• indicating that the head should not respond to a repair request from the receiver in the future.

A method of distributing multicast data, performed by a data processor, comprising the steps of:

• receiving a plurality of multicast messages from a sender at a data rate, wherein each multicast message contains a congestion signal and a prune signal;
• monitoring a receiver in response to the congestion signal;
• marking a receiver for pruning in response to the prune signal;
• and
• sending a disowned message to the receiver marked for pruning.

An apparatus that distributes multicast data, comprising:

• circuitry configured to receive a plurality of multicast messages from a sender at a data rate, wherein each multicast message contains a congestion signal and a prune signal;
• circuitry configured to monitor a receiver in response to the congestion signal;
• circuitry configured to mark a receiver for pruning in response to the prune signal;
• and
• circuitry configured to send a disowned message to the receiver marked for pruning.

An apparatus for distributing multicast data, comprising:

• means for receiving a plurality of multicast messages from a sender at a data rate, wherein each multicast message contains a congestion signal and a prune signal;
• means for monitoring a receiver in response to the congestion signal;
• means for marking a receiver for pruning in response to the prune signal;
• and
• means for sending a disowned message to the receiver marked for pruning.

A computer program product comprising:

• a computer usable medium having computer readable code embodied therein for distributing multicast data, the computer program product including:
• computer readable program code devices configured to receive a plurality of multicast messages from a sender at a data rate, wherein each multicast message contains a congestion signal and a prune signal;
• computer readable program code devices configured to monitor a receiver in response to the congestion signal;
• computer readable program code devices configured to mark a receiver for pruning in response to the prune signal;
• and
• computer readable program code devices configured to send a disowned message to the receiver marked for pruning.

A computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave and representing sequences of instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to distribute multicast data by performing the steps of:

• executing the computer program to receive a plurality of multicast messages from a sender at a data rate, wherein each multicast message contains a congestion signal and a prune signal;
• executing the computer program to monitor a receiver in response to the congestion signal;
• executing the computer program to mark a receiver for pruning in response to the prune signal;
• and
• executing the computer program to send a disowned message to the receiver marked for pruning.

A method of distributing multicast data, performed by a data processor, comprising the steps of:

• receiving a plurality of multicast messages from a sender at a data rate;
• determining a receiver status;
• sending a congestion report to a head in accordance with the receiver status;
• and
• receiving a disowned message from the head in accordance with the congestion report.