Session directories and scalable Internet multicast address allocation

Abstract

A multicast session directory is a mechanism by which users can discover the existence of multicast sessions. In the Mbone, session announcements have also served as multicast address reservations - a dual purpose that is efficient, but which may cause some side-affects as session directories scale.In this paper we examine the scaling of multicast address allocation when it is performed by such a multicast session directory. Despite our best efforts to make such an approach scale, this analysis ultimately reveals significant scaling problems, and suggests a new approach to multicast address allocation in the Internet environment.