Subject: HLIM - A new multicast routing protocol for mobile network environments

From: Matthew Cheng <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 12 Dec 2000 20:19:49 -0500

Dear MANET WG,

Following up my announcement at the WG meeting on Monday, here are the
urls of the internet draft of a new multicast routing protocol (HLIM -
Hierarchical Level-based IP Multicast) for mobile network environments.

http://search.ietf.org/internet-drafts/draft-cheng-hlim-00.txt
http://search.ietf.org/internet-drafts/draft-cheng-hlim-00.ps

The abstract is attached below:
This document proposes and describes a new IP multicast routing
protocol, called "Hierarchical Level-based IP Multicast" (HLIM). It is
designed for a hierarchical IP network and leverages the hierarchical
structure to provide efficient IP multicasting. It is originally
designed for tactical networks in battlefields but some of its functions
could be applied to commercial networks as well. Besides the basic
support for multicast in static environments, HLIM supports host
mobility (movements of IP multicast hosts) and network mobility
(movements of IP multicast routers with/without hosts). Since HLIM is
designed for harsh environments, reliability and survivability functions
are also built into HLIM. Unlike other existing IP multicasting schemes,
HLIM can provide a shared and shortest-path multicast tree without using
a concentration point like a core or rendezvous point. The shortest
paths between multicast sources and receivers can still be maintained
after a host or network movement. HLIM also allows better control of
multicast session establishments by requiring both sources and receivers
to "join" a multicast group before they can send or receive any
multicast packets.

Any comments are welcome. The protocol is being implemented and it'll be
available early 2001. Thank you very much for your attention.

Matthew Cheng
Senior Scientist
Telcordia Technologies