What is Multicasting? – Definition, Functions, And More

Definition Multicasting

In computer networking, multicast is a set of communication where data transmission runs to a group of target computers at the same time. Multicast can be one-to-many or many-to-many distribution.

Multicast: Multipoint connections for efficient transmission

if we talk about the transmission of messages in IP networks, the matter changes. When several different users have the possibility of accessing a live broadcast. the unicast connection by IP presents the requirement that the broadcasting station you must send the corresponding packages separately to each recipient. As this would involve using all available bandwidth in a short time. The multicast routing protocol (or IP multicast) thus soon developed and implemented. It allows the sender to deliver IP data streams only once and at the same time to multiple destinations.

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What is IP Multicast?

The Internet protocol is the standard protocol for communication on computer networks. Both on the Internet and local area networks, the sending of electronic messages through the use of            IP addresses is a fundamental part of the world of modern systems. The standard use TCP / IP protocol stack provides a set of protocols. And methods that cover a wide range of needs.

A key role is played here by the forms of communication available. Among which the so-called multicasting is becoming increasingly important. This concept, also called multicast or simple broadcast, allows transmission from one point to multiple recipients; that is why multicast connections are also known as a point-to-multipoint connection.

Its ability to send a single data stream to multiple destinations, multicast, is clearly distinguished from the standard unicast transmission. In which IP packets get delivered through a direct connection between systems that communicate with each other. Although multicast has points in common with broadcasting, it differs in that data flows are not sent to all network users, but only to those that have been previously determined by the issuer and are part of a determined multicast group. Through an assigned IP multicast address, the sender can send the data stream to the entire group simultaneously.

How does Multicast routing work?

It is essential for the operation of this communication concept. Furthermore, there is the possibility of assigning a static address in which a connection to a multicast server can get configured so that it offers a similar service. On the other hand, multicast addresses can also have a dynamic allocation since the underlying multicast groups do not have to exist permanently; it means that it is effortless to create private groups and even delete them. Regardless of whether the address allocation is happening statically or dynamically, the address range of IP networks is from 224.0.0.0 to 239.255.255.255 (or FF00:: / 8), also known as class address space.

IP Multicast: summary of routing techniques and protocols

The regulation of routing in multicasting understood as the transport of multicast packets by routers and networks is responsible for unique routing protocols that work with various algorithms that forward the data flow most efficiently and efficiently. Fast possible to all members of the multicast group. There is no standard protocol since those that already exist, designed for other tasks. For this reason, some protocols work best when group members are close to each other. While for others, it is more advantageous for destinations to be as far apart as possible. Also, there are several routing algorithms, the Reverse Path Forwarding (RPF) and the Truncated Reverse Path Forwarding (TRPF), explicitly established.

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