Cisco Technology, Inc.

Rahul Savarapu Parameswaran

Stig Ingvar Venaas

Francesco Meo

Mankamana Prasad Mishra

Ramakrishnan Chokkanathapuram Sundaram

Rishi Chhibber

Ayan Banerjee

Subhasri Dhesikan

Srinivasan Ramabadran

Roshan Lal

Padmanab Pathikonda

Chandrasekhar V Modumudi

Ann Roshini Paul

Francisco Meo

Systems and methods provide for the dynamic discovery, update and propagation of multicast streams capabilities in a network. An endpoint can be coupled to a first hop router in a network environment. The first hop router can discover multicast flow characteristics information associated with the endpoint and propagate the multicast flow characteristics information of the endpoint to additional network nodes in the network environment. The first hop router and at least a portion of the additional network nodes can form one or more multicast flows associated with the endpoint through the network environment using the multicast flow characteristic information associated with the endpoint.

Technique for dynamic discovery, update and propagation of multicast stream capabilities in a capability-aware network

A router node may be configured for communication of multicast traffic in a network fabric which may include a plurality of spine nodes interconnected to a plurality of leaf nodes. The router node may be configured as one of the leaf nodes and serve as a first hop router for multicast traffic. At the router node, a message for flooding the network fabric may be sent based on an indication of communication of multicast traffic for a multicast group from a source device. The message may include at least one spine node identifier of at least one preferred spine node joined to the multicast group at the router node. The message may be for indicating, to at least one of the leaf nodes, to prioritize joining to the multicast group at the at least one preferred spine node according to at least one spine node identifier.

Source-initiated distribution of spine node identifiers of preferred spine nodes for use in multicast path selection

In one embodiment, a first networking device associated with a switched network comprises one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the one or more processors to perform acts comprising configuring, on the first networking device, a network-address-translation (NAT) rule indicating that a first multicast group is to be translated to a second multicast group. The acts further include, at least partly in response to the configuring of the NAT rule, storing the NAT rule at the first networking device, generating a message indicating the NAT rule, and sending the message to at least a second networking device associated with the switched network.

Conveying network-address-translation (NAT) rules in a network

In one illustrative example, a multicast traceroute facility for a plurality of interconnected router nodes which are configured to communicate IP multicast traffic amongst hosts is described. The multicast traceroute facility may be for use in processing a multicast traceroute batch query packet which indicates a batch of multicast traceroute queries of a batch query, for identifying a plurality of traced paths for a batch of IP multicast traffic flows. Each identified traced path may be associated with one or more links, each of which has a link metric that satisfies a requested link metric (e.g. a link bandwidth). Resources for satisfying the requested link metric may be reserved for a predetermined or specified time period. The batch of IP multicast traffic flows may be established via at least some of the interconnected router nodes according to the plurality of traced paths identified from the query packet processing.

Multicast traceroute facility with batch query processing for multiple flows and reservation of resources for requested link metrics

In one illustrative example, an IP network media data router includes a spine and leaf switch architecture operative to provide IP multicast delivery of media data from source devices to receiver devices. The architecture may include K spine switches, K sets of L leaf switches, M data links between each leaf switch and each spine switch where each data link has a maximum link bandwidth of BW, and a plurality of bidirectional data ports connected to each leaf switch. Notably, the router is provided or specified with a number of bidirectional data ports N=(a/K)&#xd7;(BW/BW) for a guaranteed non-blocking IP multicast delivery of data at a maximum port bandwidth of BW, where 'a' is a fixed constant greater than or equal to K. The architecture may be reconfigurable or expandable to include C additional spine switches and C additional sets of L leaf switches. The reconfiguration may provide for a redistribution or reconnection of the M data links, so that the new number of M data links between each leaf switch and each spine switch is M=(K&#xd7;M)/(K+C)=a/K. The reconfiguration provides a new maximum number of bidirectional data ports as N=(a/K)&#xd7;(BW/BW) for maintaining the non-blocking IP multicast delivery of data at a maximum port bandwidth of BW.

Methods and apparatus for non-blocking IP multicast delivery of media data using spine and leaf architectures

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Union City, CA, United States of America

Rahul Savarapu Parameswaran