ATM multicasting for delivering information over a network

1. A method for multicast delivery of information in a DSL network comprising the steps of:

receiving requests for multicast information from multiple destination ports;

transmitting, from a network control system, separate, respective requests to a switch and a multiplexer to join or build a multicast point to multipoint connection for a given subscriber;

creating transmission paths between a single source port and multiple destination ports on said DSL network in response to said requests;

receiving the multicast information at said source port;

determining which of said destination ports is to receive said multicast information; and

distributing said information from said source port to selective ones of said destination ports based on said step of determining.

2. A method according to claim 1 , wherein said step of creating comprises creating paths between said source port and said destination ports that can be selectively multiplexed in said multiplexer, wherein said multiplexer is a digital subscriber access multiplexer (DSLAM).

3. A method according to claim 1 , wherein said step of distributing comprises multiplexing said source port to said selective destination ports in said multiplexer, wherein said multiplexer is a digital subscriber line access multiplexer (DSLAM).

4. A method according to claim 1 , wherein said step of receiving comprises receiving said multicast information at an ATM trunk port of said multiplexer and wherein said multiplexer is a digital subscriber line access multiplexer (DSLAM).

5. A method according to claim 1 , wherein said step of determining comprises determining which destination ports are associated with users who have subscribed to receive said multicast information.

6. A method according to claim 1 , wherein said step of receiving comprises receiving said multicast information at an ATM trunk port of said multiplexer and said step of distributing comprises multiplexing said source port to said selective at least one destination port in said multiplexer, wherein said multiplexer is a digital subscriber line access multiplexer (DSLAM).

7. A method according to claim 1 , wherein said step of receiving comprises receiving said multicast information at an ATM trunk port of said multiplexer, said determining step comprises determining which destination ports are associated with users who have subscribed to receive said multicast information, and said step of distributing comprises multiplexing said source port to said selective destination ports in said multiplexer, wherein said multiplexer is a digital subscriber line access multiplexer (DSLAM).

8. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the receiving the multicast information comprises receiving the multicast information through a multicast channel at said source port, wherein the network control system is centralized and wherein the method further comprises:

referencing a connection profile specifying destination points of subscribers and relating the subscribers to the multicast channel within the centralized network control system, which provides address translation for the DSL network.

9. A method according to claim 8 , wherein the multicast channel is a virtual circuit.

10. A DSL system for providing multicast delivery of information comprising:

an ATM network for sending information, and configured to receive multiple requests for multicast information;

a switch that is on the ATM network;

a digital subscriber line access multiplexer (DSLAM) coupled to said ATM network for receiving said multicast information; and

a network control system for controlling selective multiplexing of said multicast information through said switch and said DSLAM in response to said requests for said multicast information, wherein the network control system is also for transmitting separate, respective requests to the switch and the DSLAM to join or build a multicast point to multipoint connection for a given subscriber.

11. A DSL system according to claim 10 , wherein said DSLAM comprises an ATM trunk port for receiving said multicast information from said ATM network and destination ports for receiving said multicast information selectively.

12. A DSL system according to claim 11 , wherein said destination ports comprise ADSL ports.

13. A DSL system according to claim 11 , wherein said network control system comprises a connection profile to determine which of said destination ports are to receive said multicast information from said ATM trunk port.

14. A DSL system according to claim 10 , wherein said DSLAM comprises an ATM trunk port for receiving said multicast information from said ATM network and ADSL ports for receiving said multicast information from said ATM trunk port.

15. A DSL system according to claim 14 , wherein each of said ATM trunk and ADSL ports is assigned a unique combination of virtual path and virtual channel identifiers.

16. A DSL system according to claim 10 , wherein the DSLAM is for receiving said multicast information through a multicast channel, wherein the network control system is centralized, provides address translation for a DSL network and references a connection profile specifying destination points of subscribers and relating the subscribers to the multicast channel to control demultiplexing of said multicast information.

17. A DSL system according to claim 16 , wherein the multicast channel is a virtual circuit.

18. A method for multicast delivery of information in a DSL network comprising the steps of:

receiving requests for multicast information from multiple destination ports;

transmitting, from a centralized network control system, separate, respective requests to a switch and a multiplexer to join or build a multicast point to multipoint connection for a given subscriber;

creating transmission paths between a single source port and multiple destination ports on said DSL network in response to said received requests;

receiving the multicast information through a multicast channel at said source port;

referencing a connection profile specifying destination points of subscribers and relating the subscribers to the multicast channel within the centralized network control system, which provides address translation for the DSL network;

determining which of said destination ports is to receive said multicast information based on said step of referencing; and

distributing said information from said source port to selective ones of said destination ports based on said step of determining.