Abstract: Each node on a network comprises an application level multicast module. An application level multicast module can determine efficient routing configurations for a host node's transmission and reception of multimedia data from the network. As two or more nodes receive and/or forward the same multimedia data, a multicast group is formed. A multicast group is two or more nodes that broadcast, receive, forward, and/or play the same multimedia data. Multiple nodes may join and leave the multicast group without significantly affecting the quality of a multicast. Since routing determinations are based on available resources by application level multicast modules at the node level within the multicast group, multiple nodes that join or leave the multicast group have little effect on the overall performance of the multicast group.