Reliable transfer of data in a local area network with multicast distribution

Certain distributed computing systems require a single device to transmit identical data sets to two or more devices in a local area network (LAN). This kind of data transmission can be achieved by using either a connection oriented protocol such as transmission control protocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP) or a connectionless protocol. Some of the performance aspects of these two kinds of protocols are discussed especially in terms of their ability to distribute identical data sets to two or more devices on the net. In particular, an adaptable and reliable multicast data transfer protocol is described. The client (transmitter) dynamically assigns the designated acknowledger from among the set of servers (receivers). In addition, the client is able to learn from the behavior of the network and modify its transmission algorithm so as to maximize its performance characteristics. The protocol is implemented in a UNIX environment