IP multicast group management for point-to-point local distribution

We examine the applicability of existing IP multicast mechanisms for point- to-point links such as wired and wireless telephone lines. We identify prob lems such as overhead due to IGMP leave latency and unnecessary probing of hosts, both important issues for power constrained mobile hosts and low ban dwidth wireless links. We propose alternative mechanisms that preserve the IP multicasting model, but employ join-leave messages to track group member ship. We describe the implementation requirements of our mechanisms and com pare them to existing ones with respect to performance, mobile power effici ency, interoperability, robustness and implementation complexity, demonstra ting that the join-leave approach is uniformly superior for this environmen t. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.