Secure and accountable multicast data distribution

尽管多播数据通信在用于将相同数据分发给许多参与者时具有实质上减少网络资源需求的潜力，并且尽管它已被用于特定的受控环境中，但是它还没有被因特网服务提供商作为一般服务提供，因为必要的安全和计费功能不可用。解决这个问题需要一个综合的方法，在整个协议栈中关注安全性和AAA（认证，授权和计费）。 在上一个资助期内，已制定了整体架构，并针对以下领域提出了解决方案：密钥管理、路由器到路由器安全、路由器到主机安全、路由器到AAA服务器通信、与财务代表的交互（电子商务交互）、主机和用户识别。在即将到来的资助期内，将有三个主要领域的活动：1）将密钥管理解决方案集成到现有的可扩展路由器（XORP）中; 2）设计和验证AAA和主机到路由器协议的必要扩展，以促进对多播服务的准确控制和监控，并将其集成到XORP平台中。3)设计和验证一个框架，用于支持一系列可靠和不可靠的多播数据分发协议的树管理，并将所得协议集成到XORP平台中。长期目标是证明一个安全、可靠的多播数据分发系统的可行性。 这一目标的实现将允许在商业系统中引入多播数据分发，这将给这些系统的运营商带来直接利益（降低成本和增加创收），并通过降低成本和使原本不可行的应用成为可能而给用户群体带来间接利益。

Although multicast data communication has potential for substantially reducing network resource requirements when used to distribute identical data to many participants, and although it has been used in specific, controlled environments, it has not been offered as a general service by Internet Service Providers, since the necessary security and accounting functionality is not available. Solving this problem requires an integrated approach, with attention paid to Security and AAA (Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting) in the entire protocol stack.  During the previous grant period, the overall architecture has been formulated, and solutions proposed for the following areas: key management, router-to-router security, router-to-host security, router-to-AAA server communication, interaction with financial representatives (e-commerce interaction), host and user identification. During the coming grant period, there will be three main areas of activity: 1) Integration of the key management solution into an existing extensible router (XORP); 2) Design and validation of the necessary extensions to the AAA and host-to-router protocols to facilitate the accurate control and monitoring of multicast services, and their integration into the XORP platform. 3) Design and validation of a framework for support of the tree management for a range of reliable and unreliable multicast data distribution protocols, and the integration of the resulting protocols into the XORP platform. The long-term goal is the demonstration of the feasibility of a secure, accountable multicast data distribution system.  Achievement of this goal will permit the introduction of multicast data distribution in commercial systems, with direct benefits to the operators of such systems (lowered costs and increased revenue generation), and indirect benefits to the user communities, through lower costs and by enabling applications that would otherwise be infeasible.