Multicast communication in large scale networks

Upcoming applications, such as computer supported cooperative work, distributed parallel processing and virtual shared memory depend on efficient data exchange among multiple computer systems. They often require a reliable multipoint communication service with low end-to-end delay and high throughput. Additional problems occur for the provision of a reliable multipoint service, where errors are more likely and where the sender has to deal with many receivers. In order to meet the required reliability, and in order to allow an efficient use of network resources, powerful error control mechanisms are essential. This paper presents a novel concept to support reliable multicast communication in large scale heterogeneous networks.