Self-configuring lightweight Internet multicast protocol specification

Some of the greatest benefits of the Internet come from its simple service model and the avoidance of regulatory and contractual legacy of the telecom industry. Successful integration of multicast into the global Internet promises to bring similar benefits to group communications. In spite of this promise and massive research and experimentation with IP multicast, efforts to realize multicast services on the Internet have so far failed. A key element to facilitate IP multicast is to reduce the amount of infrastructure and network support specifically introduced for multicast. We have defined, implemented and experimented with a lightweight single source multicast paradigm for the Internet that self-configures over the unicast infrastructure using only elementary router functions. Our protocol avoids multicast specific control infrastructure. The only multicast specific functions are the control plane topology management, which operates out of data-path and manipulates router classifiers (forwarding table) and tunnel facilities.