Distributed and dynamic multicast scheduling in fat-tree data center networks

Multicast becomes essential in data center networks, since more and more applications require group communication. The existing multicast scheduling algorithms in data center are Internet-based or centralized, which are either not efficient or not scalable. In this paper, we propose a Distributed and Dynamic Multicast (DDM) solution for fat-tree data center networks. It includes multicast initialization, routing algorithm and load-balancing policy. As DDM does not need the central controller, it is more scalable and much simpler. Moreover, each host can dynamically join in or quit from an existing multicast group without suspending the live traffic in this group. Our simulation results show that DDM provides the better delay/throughput performance than the existing centralized multicast scheduling algorithm.