Problem statement

 

The goal of this thesis is to find a way to add a multicasting capability to the existing Classical IP and ARP over ATM service described in  RFC 1577. Several issues need to be investigated in this context:

Original Problem Statement

• Find out what the possibilities are to add multicasting capabilities to Classical IP over ATM, particularly with respect to   RFC 2022 'Support for Multicast over UNI 3.0/3.1 based ATM Networks'.
• Investigate the possibilities of using existing code for a  Broadcast and Unknown Server (BUS), as used in LANE for the task of multicasting.
• Investigate current developments related to IP multicasting over ATM within the  ATM Forum and the  IETF.
• Investigate the feasibility of an implementation of IP over ATM with multicasting capabilities.
• When the feasibility has been proven, implement this additional multicast capability in the existing Classical IP and ARP over ATM functionality.

Rephrased Problem Statement

In the course of this project more insight has been gained into the problems associated with IP multicasting over ATM. From this insight a rephrased problem statement will give a better overview of the work required to implement a such a system.

• Investigate the required protocol specifications for IP multicasting over ATM. Use RFC 2022 ('Support for Multicast over UNI 3.0/3.1 based ATM Networks') as a basis for this research. Also investigate alternatives to RFC 2022, should they exist.
• Investigate the requirements of a platform to implement the IP multicasting over ATM system on. This includes an investigation of the required capabilities of the network. E.g. is the ATM-switch capable of setting up point-to-multipoint VCCs using signalling?
• Based on the platform requirements, choose one platform to design an implementation specification for. If no suitable platform can be found, investigate how an existing platform can be modified to meet the requirements.
• Give a complete design specification of the IP multicasting over ATM system for the chosen platform.
• Implement the design specification of IP multicasting over ATM on the chosen platform.

The problem stated above is too much work for a single person in the time associated with this kind of project, but it would guide an effort more directly towards an implementation of the IP multicasting over ATM system.