In at least some embodiments, the disclosure includes an apparatus a root node in a packet based network that multicasts a plurality of packets. The apparatus also includes an intermediary node coupled to the root node and a plurality of leaf nodes coupled to the intermediary node. The root node, the intermediary node, and the plurality of leaf nodes are arranged in a tree topology. The packets are received at the intermediary node from the root node at a data rate equal to the data rate of the leaf node having the maximum data rate. The packets are multicast from the intermediary node to each of the plurality of leaf nodes at a plurality of different data rates such that each particular one of the plurality of leaf nodes receives the packets at a data rate corresponding to the data rate for the particular one of the plurality of leaf nodes.