Method and apparatus for simultaneous support of fast restoration and native multicast in ip networks

Abstract

The invention includes a method and apparatus for simultaneously supporting restoration and native multicast at a router in an Internet Protocol (IP) network. In one embodiment, a method includes establishing a point-to-point pseudowire having an endpoint at the router, associating the point-to-point pseudowire with an IP interface, and associating a multicast protocol with the IP interface. The point-to-point pseudowire is adapted for supporting restoration in response to a failure. The association of the multicast protocol with the IP interface enables running of the multicast protocol in a manner that gives an appearance that the multicast protocol is running natively on an IP link. This methodology may be repeated for each of a plurality of routers in an IP network in order to configure the routers to support restoration capabilities and native multicast capabilities such that fast restoration may be provided in response to failure conditions in a manner that is transparent to a multicast protocol providing multicast capabilities for the IP network. In this manner, both fast restoration and native multicast may be supported within an IP network, e.g., in an IPTV network or other types of IP networks supporting other types of services.