Point-to-group blocking in the switching networks with unicast and multicast switching

In this paper, a new approximate effective availability method of the point-to-group blocking probability calculation in switching networks carrying a mixture of different multi-rate unicast and multicast traffic streams is presented. Until recently, such methods have only been proposed for the single-services switching networks. To the best of our knowledge, methods of blocking probability calculation for multi-service switching network with multicast connection have not yet been considered. In this paper, four algorithms of setting-up multicast connections in multi-service switching networks are considered and discussed. Special attention is paid to the methods for determining the effective availability parameter in the case of multicast connections. The results of the analytical calculations are compared with the data of the digital simulations of the switching networks with unicast and multicast connections.