From Dr. Kevin Almeroth's Grant Proposal: "Multicast has long been a challenging Internet service to deploy. Problems include the slow evolution of network protocols, a lack of deployment, a lack of content, and finally, a lack of application support. One of the key problems that faces application developers is the lack of a single interface for joining a multicast group. Options vary depending on whether Any Source Multicast (ASM) or Source Specific Multicast (SSM) is supported by the network, whether ASM or SSM is support by the host, whether IPv4 or IPv6 is supported, and whether IP multicast or some Application Layer Multicast (ALM) service is to be used. These different options make actually receiving the desired content difficult. In this proposal we first seek to develop a robust solution of determining what options are available and then utilizing these options to get the content delivered to the user. A significant part of the challenge will be to develop a solution that does not require changes to the routers or hosts themselves. Second, we hope to implement almost all of this functionality for the Helix DNA platform."

This project is funded by the 2003 Helix Community Grant Program. Watch this page for progress and updates from the grant recipients.