Chapter 24 Multicast

The following figure shows a network example. The subscriber VLAN (1, 2 and 3) information is hidden from the streaming media server, S. In addition, the multicast VLAN information is only visible to the Switch and S.

Figure 102 MVR Network Example

VLAN 1

 

 

 

Multicast VLAN S

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

VLAN 2

VLAN 3

24.6.1 Types of MVR Ports

In MVR, a source port is a port on the Switch that can send and receive multicast traffic in a multicast VLAN while a receiver port can only receive multicast traffic. Once configured, the Switch maintains a forwarding table that matches the multicast stream to the associated multicast group.

24.6.2 MVR Modes

You can set your Switch to operate in either dynamic or compatible mode.

In dynamic mode, the Switch sends IGMP leave and join reports to the other multicast devices (such as multicast routers or servers) in the multicast VLAN. This allows the multicast devices to update the multicast forwarding table to forward or not forward multicast traffic to the receiver ports.

In compatible mode, the Switch does not send any IGMP reports. In this case, you must manually configure the forwarding settings on the multicast devices in the multicast VLAN.

24.6.3 How MVR Works

The following figure shows a multicast television example where a subscriber device (such as a computer) in VLAN 1 receives multicast traffic from the streaming media server, S, via the Switch. Multiple subscriber devices can connect through a port configured as the receiver on the Switch.

When the subscriber selects a television channel, computer A sends an IGMP report to the Switch to join the appropriate multicast group. If the IGMP report matches one of the configured MVR multicast group addresses on the Switch, an entry is created in the forwarding table on the Switch. This maps the subscriber VLAN to the list of forwarding destinations for the specified multicast traffic.

When the subscriber changes the channel or turns off the computer, an IGMP leave message is sent to the Switch to leave the multicast group. The Switch sends a query to VLAN 1 on the receiver port (in this case, an uplink port on the Switch). If there is another subscriber device connected to this

 

195

ES3500 Series User’s Guide