mbone

1 definition found

mbone - Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (26 May 2007) :

  MBONE
  
     Virtual Internet Backbone for Multicast IP.
  
     IP-Multicast is the class-D addressing scheme in IP
     implemented by Steve Deering at Xerox PARC.  It was adopted
     at the IETF March 1992 meeting and acquired the name MBONE
     after the July 1992 IETF meeting.
  
     IP Multicast-based routing allows distributed applications to
     achieve real-time communication over IP wide area networks
      through a lightweight, highly threaded model of
     communication.
  
     Each network-provider participant in the MBONE provides one or
     more IP multicast routers to connect with tunnels to other
     participants and to customers.  The multicast routers are
     typically separate from a network's production routers since
     most production routers don't yet support IP multicast.  Most
     sites use workstations running the mrouted program, but the
     experimental MOSPF software for Proteon routers is an
     alternative.
  
     It is best if the workstations can be dedicated to the
     multicast routing function to avoid interference from other
     activities and so there will be no qualms about installing
     kernel patches or new code releases on short notice.  Since
     most MBONE nodes other than endpoints will have at least three
     tunnels, and each tunnel carries a separate (unicast) copy of
     each packet, it is also useful, though not required, to have
     multiple network interfaces on the workstation so it can be
     installed parallel to the unicast router for those sites with
     configurations like this:
  
     		+----------+
     		| Backbone |
     		|   Node   |
     		+----------+
     		     |
      ------------------------------------------ External DMZ Ethernet
     	  |               |
          +----------+    +----------+
          |  Router  |    |  mrouted |
          +----------+    +----------+
     	  |               |
      ------------------------------------------ Internal DMZ Ethernet
  
     This configuration allows the mrouted machine to connect with
     tunnels to other regional networks over the external DMZ and
     the physical backbone network, and connect with tunnels to the
     lower-level mrouted machines over the internal DMZ, thereby
     splitting the load of the replicated packets.  The mrouted
     machine would not do any unicast forwarding.
  
     Note that end-user sites may participate with as little as one
     workstation that runs the packet audio and video software and
     has a tunnel to a network-provider node.
  
     RFC 1112 gives the details.
  
     FAQ (http://eit.com/techinfo/mbone/mbone.html).
  
     (1994-11-11)