Abstract: An apparatus and method of implementing multicast security in a given multicast domain, the given multicast domain having one or more network devices, receives multicast traffic that is encrypted with a global key, the global key being available to the given multicast domain and one or more other multicast domains, decrypts the received multicast traffic with the global key to produce decrypted multicast traffic, encrypts the decrypted multicast traffic with a local key to produce local encrypted multicast traffic, the local key being available to the given multicast domain, and forwards the local encrypted multicast traffic to the one or more network devices in the given multicast domain. In a further embodiment, the apparatus and method for implementing multicast security in a given multicast domain first receives a global key message that identifies the global key.

Abstract: A mechanism for allowing a prober to detect and identify leaky points within a network protocol domain utilizes a Probe Boundary Leak (PBL) protocol to propagate a probe message throughout the network protocol domain. Each PBL router that receives the probe message checks for leaky points in the network protocol domain. Any PBL router that detects a leaky point in the network protocol domain sends a negative response message to the prober including a network address for each leaky point detected by the PBL router. A PBL border router within the network protocol domain being probed sends a positive response message to the prober including a network address for each exit interface supported by the PBL border router. The prober thereby receives a list of “leaky” network interfaces and a list of “non-leaky” exit interfaces for the network protocol domain.

Abstract: A system, device, and method for distributing multicast routing information in a Protocol Independent Multicast (PIM) domain utilizes a PIM router in the PIM domain to collect and distribute multicast routing information. The PIM router collects interdomain multicast routing information from border routers, and distributes the interdomain multicast routing information by periodically sending a bootstrap message containing the interdomain multicast routing information. The PIM router may also send a bootstrap message containing any changed interdomain multicast routing information upon determining that one or more interdomain multicast routes have changed.

Abstract: A system, device, and method for transitioning from DVMRP to BGMP for interdomain multicast routing over the Internet multicast backbone (Mbone) switches the Mbone DVMRP distribution tree, piece by piece, into BGMP distribution trees. Each piece is a contiguous BGMP regional tree. The routers in the regional BGMP tree run an extended BGMP protocol. The root of the regional BGMP tree also runs DVMRP, and joins the Mbone DVMRP distribution tree in order to receive multicast packets and forward the multicast packets over the regional BGMP tree. The extended BGMP protocol ensures that no fowarding loops are created between the Mbone DVMRP distribution tree and the regional BGMP tree.