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SonicOS Enhanced 4.0 Administrator Guide
CHAPTER 43
Chapter 43: Configuring Multicast Settings

Firewall > Multicast

Multicasting, also called IP multicasting, is a method for sending one Internet Protocol (IP)
packet simultaneously to multiple hosts. Multicast is suited to the rapidly growing segment of
Internet traffic - multimedia presentations and video conferencing. For example, a single host
transmitting an audio or video stream and ten hosts that want to receive this stream. In
mutlicasting, the sending host transmits a single IP packet with a specific multicast address,
and the 10 hosts simply need to be configured to listen for packets targeted to that address to
receive the transmission. Multicasting is a point-to-multipoint IP communication mechanism
that operates in a connectionless mode - hosts receive multicast transmissions by “tuning in”
to them, a process similar to tuning in to a radio.
The Firewall > Multicast page allows you to manage multicast traffic on the SonicWALL
security appliance.