An API for scalable reliable multicast

There are many scenarios in which the same data must be delivered over a packet switched network to a large set of receivers. The Internet enables efficient multipoint transmissions through IP multicast by allowing data transmission to all receivers with a single send. Most approaches to scalable reliable multicast utilize receiver-oriented retransmissions. Defining an API for receiver-oriented reliable multicast is difficult because it is not clear how to manage the sender's cache and to schedule repairs. We outline an approach to defining an API based on logical cache persistence that addresses these problems. We also we explore the issues involved in defining an API for reliable multicast protocol on the Internet that can scale to millions of receivers.