Active network support for multicast applications

This article analyzes the necessity and feasibility of designing a protocol for active networks that supports multicasting applications with different characteristics in terms of data loss tolerance. The article begins with a presentation of the service elements required by multicast applications, and from this study a network service description is given. The advantages of providing this service over active networks are studied. The service description is then used as the set of requirements for the design of RMANP (reliable multicast active network protocol), which is capable of providing the service over active network technology. Then a prototype implementation of RMANP over the active node transport system (ANTS) is presented, and some data for the evaluation of its performance is provided. Finally, the main conclusions are that active networks provide flexible support for the development of new network services, but further improvements in runtime efficiency are required