Configuring L2 Multicast Features 807
IGMP Snooping Querier
When PIM and IGMP are enabled in a network with IP multicast routing, the
IP multicast router acts as the IGMP querier. However, if the IP-multicast
traffic in a VLAN needs to be Layer 2 switched only, an IP-multicast router is
not required. The IGMP snooping querier can perform the role of generating
IGMP queries that would normally be performed by the multicast router.
When IGMP snooping querier is enabled, the querier switch sends out
periodic IGMP queries that trigger IGMP report messages from the hosts that
want to receive IP multicast traffic. The IGMP snooping feature listens to
these IGMP reports to identify multicast router ports. If there is another
querier in the network and the local querier is in election mode, then the
querier with the lower IP address is elected and the other querier stops
querying. If the local querier is not in election mode and another querier is
detected, the local querier stops querying.
What Is MLD Snooping?
In IPv4, Layer 2 switches use IGMP snooping to limit the flooding of
multicast traffic by dynamically configuring the multicast forwarding
database so that multicast data traffic is forwarded to only those ports
associated with a multicast router or host that has indicated an interest in
receiving a particular multicast group. In IPv6, MLD snooping performs a
similar function.
With MLD snooping, IPv6 multicast data is selectively forwarded to a list of
ports that want to receive the data instead of being flooded to all ports in a
VLAN. This list is constructed in the MFDB by snooping IPv6 multicast
control packets. MLD snooping floods multicast data packets until a
multicast router port has been identified. MLD snooping forwards
unregistered multicast data packets to IPv6 multicast routers. MLD snooping
discovers multicast routers by listening for MLD queries and populates the
MFDB.
MLD Snooping learns of multicast routers by listening for the following
packets:
• MLD query packets
NOTE: Without an IP-multicast router on a VLAN, you must configure another
switch as the IGMP querier so that it can send queries.