Secure multicast software delivery

Abstract

Nowadays, purchased software is delivered via sending CD-ROMs or downloading from the Internet. These solutions are either time-consuming or not scalable when the number of end-users becomes large. In this paper, we explore the use of multicast technology as an option for software delivery. We present a global structure for multicast software delivery and look into security issues, mainly focusing on access control in establishing a secure multicast recipient group. A communication schema between each entity in a multicast software delivery system is described in detail. We also describe briefly the implementation of our current prototype for a multicast software delivery system. Such electronic software delivery is the first phase of our ongoing project towards unattended software installation, configuration and upgrade.