What is multicast tunneling, What is igmp – Dell POWEREDGE M1000E User Manual

Page 1153

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Managing IPv4 and IPv6 Multicast

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What Is Multicast Tunneling?

If Multicast traffic is to be routed through a part of a network that does not

support multicasting (routers which are not multicast capable) then the

multicast packets are encapsulated in an IP datagram and sent as a unicast

packet. When the multicast router at the remote end of the tunnel receives

the packet, the router strips off the IP encapsulation and forwards the packet

as an IP Multicast packet. This process of encapsulating multicast packets in

IP is called tunneling.

What Is IGMP?

The Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) is used by IPv4 systems

(hosts, L3 switches, and routers) to report their IP multicast group

memberships to any neighboring multicast routers. The PowerConnect

M6220/M6348/M8024/M8024-k switch performs the multicast router role of

the IGMP protocol, which means it collects the membership information

needed by the active multicast routing protocol.
The PowerConnect M6220/M6348/M8024/M8024-k switch supports IGMP

Version 3. Version 3 adds support for source filtering, which is the ability for a

system to report interest in receiving packets only from specific source

addresses, as required to support Source-Specific Multicast [SSM], or from all

but specific source addresses, sent to a particular multicast address. Version 3

is designed to be interoperable with Versions 1 and 2.

Understaning IGMP Proxy

IGMP proxy enables a multicast router to learn multicast group membership

information and forward multicast packets based upon the group

membership information. The IGMP Proxy is capable of functioning only in

certain topologies that do not require Multicast Routing Protocols (i.e.,

DVMRP, PIM-DM, and PIM-SM) and have a tree-like topology, as there is no

support for features like reverse path forwarding (RPF) to correct packet route

loops.
The proxy contains many downstream interfaces and a unique upstream

interface explicitly configured. It performs the host side of the IGMP protocol

on its upstream interface and the router side of the IGMP protocol on its

downstream interfaces.

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