Hyper Delivery, IBM Corp’s own multicast data communications technology previously available only in Japan, has now been launched in Europe and the US. Based on the RMTP Reliable MultiCast Transport Protocol developed by IBM’s Tokyo Research Labs in collaboration with NTT Information and Communication Systems Laboratories, Hyper Delivery is for the delivery of bulk data to large numbers of registered clients (2,000 to 10,000) over a standard UDP/IP network.
Hyper Delivery sends one copy of the data, creating copies along the way for registered users to receive. It also creates an acknowledgement sent back to the sending location. If no acknowledgment is received, the data is sent again. The technology is intended for the distribution of business data, program and content files over LANs, WANs, Cable, Satellite and the internet. Large retailers, educational distance learning companies are two target application area. Others include data replication, electronic publishing, software updating and network management.
There are two Hyper Delivery components: File Transfer Program, and API Library, which can be integrated within other applications. In Japan, NTT’s Satellite Communications Inc division has been offering the technology to businesses using its satellite services. IBM says it will use the technology itself in conjunction with its Digital Media Distributor product, a distribution and management system for digital broadcast content. The English version becomes available on September 24. á
