HIP - a protocol for hierarchical multicast routing

This paper presents a new, flexible approach to inter-domain multicast rout ing. The HIP protocol introduces the idea of "virtual routers" as a method of organizing the control of an entire domain so as to appear as a single r outer on a higher-level shared tree. HIP then routes between domains using the Ordered Core Based Tree (OCBT) protocol, and allows recursive applicati on of virtual routers to create a multi-leveled hierarchy while providing e fficient methods of distributing the location of the center point for the t ree. The advantages of this approach include improved robustness, the abili ty to route between heterogeneous domains and a significant reduction in th e amount of bandwidth consumed in control traffic and in the amount of stat e stored at each router over existing hierarchical multicast protocols. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.