All things related to multicast

[Leonard Giuliano <>]

I wouldn't declare the patient dead just yet.

While mcast in general may be experiencing a peak of interest and 
deployment on VPN and video distribution networks, it is probably true 
that interest in interdomain (or more specifically Internet) mcast is 
currently at perhaps its nadir.  But there is something out there 
providing decent opportunity for hope- AMT.

There are many obstacles for Internet mcast, but I would argue that the 
biggest by far is that mcast is an all-or-nothing solution.  Namely, it 
must be deployed on every L3 device between source and receiver.  Getting 
every router and fw on the Internet to support the protocols necessary to 
make mcast work has proven to be a pretty mountain to climb.  However, AMT 
solves this problem.  AMT allows you to automagically tunnel mcast traffic 
from the edge of the mcast-enabled network directly to end hosts on 
unicast-only networks.  With AMT, the content-audience chicken-and-egg 
problem goes away- the entire Internet can now be the potential audience.

AMT has been around for a while, but what is relatively new is that there 
are real scalable implementations out there, and it's no longer just a 
science project.  Late last year, there was a big gaming event that used 
AMT to deliver Internet mcast:

http://www.attinnovationspace.com/2010/11/23/first-ever-open-web-multicast-event/

Getting a few AMT relays out on the Internet, having some more 
interesting content and perhaps some AMT GW implementations for 
Android/iPhone would help.  Maybe a World Multicast Day?

For a description of the potential for Internet mcast and the role AMT can 
play:

http://www.networkworld.com/news/tech/2011/010511-tech-update-next-gen-tv.html



On Thu, 24 Feb 2011, Garry Peirce wrote:

-) Using the frequency of messages on this list and working SAP entries as a
-) rudimentary gauge, the level of interdomain v4 multicast work/content seems
-) low (not to mention v6 which is not yet possible for us).   I believe that
-) mcast has still yet to realize its value and I'm curious in hearing how
-) others view and use inter/intradomain mcast.
-) 
-) Mcast can be R&E differentiating value-add among ourselves and our
-) participants.
-) 
-)  
-) 
-) To give insight into our use, as a unit of the University System,
-) Networkmaine operates Maine's statewide network (K-20, Research, Libraries,
-) Public Service).
-) 
-) Within the University System, we currently make internal production use of
-) v4 mcast for ITV distance learning (including ~20 K12 sites) and on
-) scattered wired subnets as needed for disk imaging.  
-) 
-) IPTV of commercial content is a wishful thought, but with cableTV services
-) contracted/maintained by other entities , raising interest tends to be an
-) uphill battle. 
-) 
-) With the tiny amount of IPTV test content we enable, there's little
-) awareness of it.  On a side note, a growing mobile population will require
-) wireless mcast support which I've current reservations about (ex. source
-) control).   Although not for a lack in trying, mcast peering with MaineREN
-) participants is currently non-existent - they see it as desirable but have
-) had no time to devote to it.
-) 
-) What's really missing is content.
-) 
-)  
-) 
-) I believe R&Es contain a wealth of potential content ; content that could 
be
-) shared to wider audiences via mcast.
-) 
-) We've started an (unfunded) grass roots effort to cast live consented 
public
-) events.
-) 
-) The thought was to try and promote multicast within our R&E statenet as 
well
-) as to share such events to wider audiences among it and beyond.
-) 
-) Our recent live events can be seen here <http://www.networkmaine.net/iptv/>
-) , with more on the way.
-) 
-) I'd be happy to share further info/experience about the effort for any that
-) may be interested.
-) 
-)  
-) 
-) I recently saw a message that I2 JointTech conference is contemplating 
doing
-) away with mcast sessions in lieu of unicast.
-) 
-) I'd be interested in understanding it if someone on the list is aware,  as 
I
-) would think that too bad should that occur.
-) 
-) I wonder if that might be due to shallow interdomain mcast acceptance, or
-) that R&E BW growth decreases the need for a more efficient (albeit more
-) complex) transport, or perhaps to provide it within an interactive
-) environment.  Losing any interdomain mcast content will further decrease
-) usage.  Being personally interested in the content,  it's helpful to not
-) only verify the mcast infrastructure but to use as example of how the
-) service can be beneficial.   Believing that part of an R&E network's role 
is
-) to test/develop the network itself, it'd actually be nice to see it via v6
-) mcast.
-) 
-)  
-) 
-) Appreciate any others' thoughts/insights.
-) 
-)  
-) 
-)  
-) 
-)  
-) 
-) Description: Description: Description: cid:
-) 
-)  
-) 
-)