Reliable multicast protocols and their application on the Green Bank Telescope
Joseph J. Brandt · Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE · 1998
The Green Bank Telescope (GBT) is under construction in Green Bank, West Virginia. The GBT is expected to be operational in mid 1999. Networking the GBT will require innovative application of network technologies. Distribution of data from the originating source to large groups of consumers can be accomplished in at least two ways. The first is to 'unicast' or communicate individually with each consumer on the net. The second is to 'multicast' to a group of consumers. Multicasting is a technology which seems to have merit for distribution of information, but it is inherently unreliable. In some cases, such as observational data, packets must be delivered reliably, while in other cases such as informational displays, reliable delivery is not essential. This paper introduces the basic concepts of multicasting, and also discusses the design approaches of reliable multicast protocols.