Group communication system based on MAC-over-IP

We have researched a regional personal computer (PC) communication network system to provide group communication services to regional community members cost-effectively. Its LAN-like environment enables pre-registered users to communicate with each other using a PC at any time. An STM-based system, which transfers Ethernet frames to/from users´ PCs using HDLC (high-level data link control) protocol over ISDN access lines, has already been developed. Access systems that directly provide an Ethernet interface to users such as shared STM-PDS (synchronous transfer mode passive double star) and cable modem systems have recently been introduced. The communication services provided with the current access systems are basically Internet protocol (IP) services. Such access systems will be required to support protocol-free communication services as well as group communication services. We propose a new system architecture that is applicable to many kinds of access systems including shared STM-PDS and cable modem systems. It is based on MAC-over-IP where Ethernet frames from users´ PC are encapsulated into IP packets in the edge device and filtered using the PC MAC (media access control) addresses in the center node. This paper describes the system architecture and its operations. The system can provide protocol-free services and guaranteed security to users. The processing load of the center node is reduced by cutting through the decapsulation of MAC-over-IP packets by controlling the ARP (address resolution protocol) packets. Performance evaluation results for a prototype system are presented