Path Level Reliability in Overlay Multicast Tree for Realtime Service

Overlay Multicast is a promising approach to overcome the implementation problem of IP multicast. Real time services like internet broadcasting are provided by overlay multicast technology due to the complex nature of IP multicast and the high cost to support multicast function. Since multicast members can dynamically join or leave their multicast group, it is necessary to keep a reliable overlay multicast tree to support real time service without delay. In this paper, we consider path level reliability that connects each member node. The problem is formulated as a binary integer programming which maximizes the reliability of multicast tree. Tabu search based algorithm is presented to solve the NP-hard problem.