An enterprise-wide approach to GIG internet protocol multicast

The Department is increasingly relying on IP multicast to support a growing demand for disseminating intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) and to maximize bandwidth savings across strategic and resource-constrained tactical edge networks. A number of operational communities, including Global Broadcast Service (GBS), US Central Command (CENTCOM) Digital Video Broadcast - Return Channel Service (DVB-RCS), Unified Video Dissemination Service (UVDS), the Joint Communications Support Element (JCSE), Deployable Joint Command and Control (DJC2), Army (through its WIN-T program), and Missile Defense Agency (MDA) are currently using or planning the deployment of multicast across their networks. This paper will first discuss a short-term architecture for deploying IP multicast associated with the dissemination of UVDS, GBS, and DVB-RCS video streams to tactical users. This design involves the configuration of multicast Rendezvous Points (RPs) at strategic locations, combined with IPsec VPNs (used for transporting multicast across the Defense Information Systems Network (DISN)) to disseminate multicast traffic between fixed/tactical sources and receivers. Although this short-term solution will yield considerable benefits, it exhibits shortcomings that result from the lack of a common/standardized enterprise-wide multicast approach-programs are independently developing their own multicast architectures, leading to designs that are not scalable, interoperable, or efficient and require much more engineering to implement in an enterprise environment. A key component of this enterprise multicast architecture is the enabling of native multicast services across the DISN. A DISN multicast service, coupled with the enabling of multicast across DoD Gateways, Defense Enterprise Computing Centers (DECCs), Base / Camp / Post / Stations (B/C/P/S), and Deployed Networks (DNs), allows a standardized approach for subscription of these services, reduces engineering time to stand- up program specific multicast solutions, and increases the overall scalability and efficiency of traffic distribution. This paper will present the enterprise-wide multicast architecture and explain how the native enterprise multicast service will benefit existing and future strategic and tactical users. Lessons learned and implementation guidance, produced as part of several multicast Modeling and Simulation (M&S) and testing efforts throughout DISA, will be conveyed.