38
IGMP
This chapter shows you how to configure the Switch as a multicast router. See also Section 24.4 on page 232 for information on IGMP snooping.
38.1 IGMP Overview
IP multicast is an IETF standard for distributing data to multiple recipients. The following figure shows a multicast session and the relationship between a multicast server, multicast routers and multicast hosts. A multicast server transmits multicast packets and multicast routers forward multicast packets to multicast hosts.
Figure 168 IP Multicast
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Server
A host can decide to join or leave a multicast group at any time. A host can also be a member of more than one multicast group. Multicast groups are identified by IP addresses in the Class D range (224.0.0.0 to 239.255.255.255). A multicast server sends packets addressed to a particular multicast group (multicast IP address).
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