Multicast grouping
View Patent ↗A coexistence central entity CCE receives deployment messages from each of a plurality of N access nodes. Each deployment message has an identifier of an access node of the plurality and an identifier of a channel in a license-exempt band. From the received deployment messages the CCE compiles and maintains a database which associates each channel with a multicast group. Each multicast group includes all of the access nodes from which was received at least one deployment message identifying a said channel corresponding thereto. When the CCE receives a multicast message from one of the access nodes identifying a given channel, it checks the database to find members of a multicast group associated with the given channel, and notifies at least some of those members of the received multicast message. In this manner the access node's multicast message is forwarded among the whole group.
1. An apparatus comprising:
at least one processor and a computer readable memory storing a computer program, wherein the computer readable memory with the computer program is configured with the at least one processor to cause the apparatus to at least:
receive deployment messages from each of a plurality of N access nodes each of which is operable to provide wireless connectivity to one or more user devices, each deployment message comprising at least an identifier of a given access node of the plurality and a frequency identifier or a frequency channel of a plurality of frequency channels a license-exempt band, wherein N is an integer greater than one; and
from the received deployment messages, compile and maintain a database which associates each frequency channel with a corresponding multicast group, each said multicast group comprising at least the access nodes from which was received at least one deployment message identifying a said frequency channel corresponding thereto.
2. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the computer readable memory with the computer program is configured with the at least one processor to cause the apparatus to:
in response to receiving a multicast message from one of the access nodes identifying a said frequency channel, utilize the database to determine members of a multicast group associated with the frequency channel; and
notify at least some of the determined members of the multicast group corresponding to the received multicast message.
3. The apparatus according, to claim 2 , wherein the determined members of the multicast group which are notified of the received multicast message are all members of the multicast group which are within a pre-determined geographic proximity to the access node from which the multicast message was received, excepting the access node from which the multicast message was received.
4. The apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the at least some of the determined members of the multicast group are notified of the received multicast message by forwarding the received multicast message.
5. The apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the compiled database comprises an address table for each frequency identifier of each frequency channel, and the processing system is arranged to utilize the database to determine the members of the multicast group associated with the frequency channel by accessing the database using the frequency channel to which the received multicast message is addressed.
6. The apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the members of the multicast group are identified in the database by at least identifiers of a type specific to a radio access technology in which the respective member operates.
7. The apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein:
the multicast message is received on a given frequency channel; and
the at least some of the determined members of a multicast group corresponding to the given frequency channel are notified of the received multicast message by forwarding the received multicast message on the given frequency channel to identifiers obtained from the database for each of the at least some of the determined members.
8. A method, comprising:
receiving deployment messages from each of a plurality of N access nodes each of which is operable to provide wireless connectivity to one or more user devices, each deployment message comprising at least an identifier of as given access node of the plurality and a frequency identifier of a frequency channel of a plurality of frequency channels in a license-exempt band, in which N is an integer greater than one; and
from the received deployment messages, compiling and maintaining a database which associates each frequency channel with a corresponding multicast group, each said multicast group comprising at least the access nodes from which was received at least one deployment message identifying a said frequency channel corresponding thereto.
9. The method according to claim 8 , further comprising:
in response to receiving a multicast message from one of the access nodes identifying a said frequency channel, utilizing the database to determine members of a multicast group associated with the frequency channel; and
notifying at least some of the determined members of the multicast group corresponding to the received multicast message.
10. The method according to claim 9 , in which the determined members of the multicast group which are notified of the received multicast message are all members of the multicast group which are within a pre-determined geographic proximity to the access node from which the multicast message was received, excepting the access node from which the multicast message was received.
11. The method according to claim 9 , in which the at least some of the determined members of the multicast group are notified of the received multicast message by forwarding the received multicast message.
12. The method according to claim 9 , in which the compiled database comprises an address table for each frequency identifier of each frequency channel, and utilizing the database to determine the members of the multicast group associated with the frequency channel comprises accessing the database using the frequency channel to which the received multicast message is addressed.
13. The method according to claim 12 , in which the members of the multicast group are identified in the database by at least identifiers ala type specific to a radio access technology in which the respective member operates.
14. The method according to claim 9 , in which:
the multicast message is received on a given frequency channel; and
the at least some of the determined members of a multicast group corresponding to the given frequency channel are notified of the received multicast message by forwarding the received multicast message on the given frequency channel to identifiers obtained from the database for each of the at least some of the determined members.
15. A Computer readable memory storing a computer program which, when executed by a computing device, causes the computing device to perform the steps of:
receive deployment messages from each of a plurality of N access each of which is operable to provide wireless connectivity to one or more user devices, each deployment message comprising at least an identifier of a given access node of the plurality and a frequency identifier of a frequency channel of a plurality of frequency channels in a license-exempt band, in which N is an integer greater than one; and
from the received deployment messages, compile and maintain a database which associates each frequency channel with a corresponding multicast group, each said multicast group comprising at least the access nodes from which was received at least one deployment message identifying a said frequency channel corresponding thereto.
16. The computer readable memory according to claim 15 , wherein the executed computer program further causes the computing device to:
in response to receiving a multicast message from one of the access nodes identifying a said frequency channel, utilize the database to determine members of a multicast group associated with the frequency channel; and
notify at least some of the determined members of the multicast group corresponding to the received multicast message.
17. The computer readable memory according to claim 16 , in which the determined members of the multicast group that are notified of the received multicast message are all members of the multicast group that are within a pre-determined geographic proximity to the access node from which the multicast message was received excepting the access node from which the multicast message was received.
18. The computer readable memory according to claim 16 , in which the members of the multicast group are identified in the database by at least identifiers of a type specific to a radio access technology in which the respective member operates.
19. The computer readable memory according to claim 16 , in which the compiled database comprises an address table for each frequency identifier of each frequency channel; and in which the set of instructions causes the computing device to utilize the database to determine the members of the multicast group associated with the frequency channel by accessing the database using the frequency channel to which the received multicast message is addressed.
20. The computer readable memory according to claim 16 , in which:
the multicast message is received on a given frequency channel; and
the at least some of the determined members of the multicast group corresponding to the given frequency channel are notified of the received multicast message by forwarding the received multicast message on the frequency channel to identifiers obtained from the database for each of the at least some of the determined members.