Cisco Technology, Inc.

Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Yiqun Cai

Arjen Boers

Toerless Eckert

Heidi H Ou

Lorenzo Vicisano

Daniel A Alvarez

Ijsbrand Wijnands

Nagarani Chandika

Ishan Wu

Ramana Mellacheruva

Rajiv Asati

Parveen Kumar Patel

Mohamed Khalid

Himanshu Raj

Jonathan Davar

Liming Wei

Chickayya Naik

Tony Speakman

Apoorva Karan

Cheng Tang

Amal Maalouf

Daniel Williston

A multi-gateway virtual machine that operates multiple gateways. Each gateway acts as an interface between a virtual network and entities outside of the virtual network. Each virtual network has its own address space, which may be overlapping with the address space of other virtual networks, even if the gateways of those virtual networks are operating on the same virtual machine. Accordingly, the principles described herein relate to a virtual machine that can operate thereon multiple gateways, and thus to a multi-gateway virtual machine that services multiple virtual networks.

Multiple gateway operation on single operating system

In one embodiment, a method includes transmitting a packet from a router located in a communication path between a source and a receiver, the packet having one or more values used to select a group designated router from a list of candidate group designated routers for multicast traffic streams, selecting the router as said group designated router for one or more of the multicast traffic streams, and forwarding traffic for the one or more multicast traffic streams to the receiver. The candidate group designated routers are last hop routers for transmitting the multicast traffic streams to a common link connected to the receiver. An apparatus is also disclosed herein.

Protocol independent multicast designated router redundancy

A method of routing multicast traffic in a computer network is disclosed. The method comprises associating a plurality of multicast group addresses on a network device with respective multicast routing topologies. A network device and a network are also disclosed.

Method of routing multicast traffic

In one embodiment, a method includes identifying a packet at an upstream node in communication with a source and in communication with a downstream node through equal cost multiple paths including first and second multi-access networks, the packet transmitted on the first multi-access network and associated with a multicast group, and transmitting from the upstream node a request to the downstream node to join the group on the second multi-access network, if the upstream node is already transmitting data to the group on the second multi-access network, or a bandwidth utilization at the first multi-access network exceeds a specified threshold. An apparatus is also disclosed.

Bandwidth utilization for equal cost multiple paths

In one embodiment, a method includes transmitting a packet from a router located in a communication path between a source and a receiver, the load balancing packet having one or more values used to select a group designated router from a list of candidate group designated routers for multicast traffic streams, selecting the router as said group designated router for one or more of the multicast traffic streams, and forwarding traffic for the one or more multicast traffic streams to the receiver. The candidate group designated routers are last hop routers for transmitting the multicast traffic streams to a common link connected to the receiver. An apparatus is also disclosed.

A method is provided in one example and includes evaluating multiple paths in a network in order to execute a reverse path forwarding decision for multicast traffic associated with a source. The method may also include selecting a second network path based on a first network path previously been designated as a route for the multicast traffic associated with the source. The first network path and a second network path differ by at least one network element. The method further includes receiving at least one of a first data stream and a second data stream, wherein the first data stream is associated with the first network path and the second data stream is associated with the second network path.

System and method for providing a path avoidance feature in a network environment

In one embodiment, a method includes receiving a join message from a receiver at a receiver edge router, the join message identifying a source and a group, and creating at least two forwarding trees for transmitting multicast data streams comprising duplicate data to the receiver edge router. The forwarding trees include a root at a source edge router in communication with the source, and different network paths. The method further includes receiving a packet from one of the forwarding trees and processing the received packet to determine if the packet is a duplicate of another packet received at the receiver edge router. If the packet is a duplicate packet, it is discarded. If the packet is not a duplicate, it is forwarded to the receiver. An apparatus is also disclosed.

Network based multicast stream duplication and merging

A method is provided in one example implementation and includes sending a PIM join message to the second spoke router by the hub router. The second spoke router dynamically determines each interested remote spoke router by parsing a hub-sent PIM message and accordingly constructs the multicast routing entry such that the first and second spoke routers establish multicast communication independent of a hub router. In more specific embodiments, the PIM join/prune messaging includes a list of each downstream spoke router that sent a PIM join/prune, in a new attribute. The PIM join/prune message is sent by the hub router towards a multicast source. A new receiver-list attribute is created that the hub router populates with a non-broadcast multi-access (NBMA) address for each interested spoke router.

System and method for multicasting in an internet protocol virtual private network environment

A method and apparatus for providing multicast messages across a data communication network, the method comprising receiving a multicast message and adding to the multicast message a vector stack including at least one address of a router to which the multicast message is to be sent. The multicast message and the vector stack are then forwarded. At the first router indicated by the vector stack, the next address to which the multicast message is to be sent is read. This is repeated as necessary until the multicast message is received by the final address in the vector stack. The multicast message is then routed to the address indicated in the original multicast message.

Method and apparatus for providing multicast messages across a data communication network

Techniques for implementing multicast messaging between spokes in a hub and spoke network are provided in the present disclosure. Multicast messages may be efficiently routed by creating separate multicast groups for upstream traffic from a source spoke to the hub (a 'To Hub' group joined by the hub) and downstream traffic from the hub to spokes (a 'From Hub' group joined by spokes interested in receiving multicast messages). A source spoke may send a multicast message encapsulated in a packet with the &#x201c;To Hub&#x201d; group address as the destination. Upon receipt, the hub may re-route the multicast message to spokes that have joined the &#x201c;From Hub&#x201d; group by encapsulating the original message in a packet with the &#x201c;From Hub&#x201d; group address as the destination.

Hub and spoke multicast model

A multicast transmission scheme is introduced. A multicast data stream is sent on a default tunnel and switched to a data tunnel during flooding conditions. The default tunnel is a point-to-multipoint tunnel from, for example, a source provider edge router to all other provider edge routers in a virtual private network. The data tunnel is a point-to-multipoint tunnel from, for example, a source provider edge router to other provider edge routers that have recipients. Flooding conditions can occur when sending the multicast data stream on the default tunnel, for example, when a specified bandwidth threshold has been exceeded on a source provider edge router. Additionally, the data tunnel is created by selecting a multicast distribution tunnel group from a configured pool of addresses, advertising the group, receiving data joins from, for example, provider edge routers with recipients, and waiting a specified send time.

Flooding control for multicast distribution tunnel

A method and apparatus for a downstream router to inform an upstream router by use of packets of a new router command protocol that the upstream router is to forward multicast packets of a specified group to the downstream router. First the downstream router transmits a HELLO packet to upstream router to inform the upstream router that the downstream router is a multicast router implementing the invention. Then, in the event that the downstream router receives a packet from an end station requesting multicast packets of a particular group, in response the downstream router sends a JOIN packet to the upstream router. The JOIN packet requests that the upstream router forward the requested group multicast packets to the downstream router. When a multicast group packet arrives at the upstream router, the upstream router forwards the packet to those downstream routers requesting that group.

Growing community of inventors

Cupertino, CA, United States of America

Yiqun Cai