Operation Manual – Multicast
H3C S3100 Series Ethernet Switches Chapter 1 Multicast Overview
1-4
z Multicast brings no waste of network resources and makes proper use of
bandwidth.
1.1.4 Roles in Multicast
The following roles are involved in multicast transmission:
z An information sender is referred to as a multicast source (“Source” in Figure 1-3).
z Each receiver is a multicast group member (“Receiver” in Figure 1-3).
z All receivers interested in the same information form a multicast group. Multicast
groups are not subject to geographic restrictions.
z A router that supports Layer 3 multicast is called multicast router or Layer 3
multicast device. In addition to providing multicast routing, a multicast router can
also manage multicast group members.
For a better understanding of the multicast concept, you can assimilate multicast
transmission to the transmission of TV programs, as shown in
Table 1-1.
Table 1-1 An analogy between TV transmission and multicast transmission
Step TV transmission Multicast transmission
1
A TV station transmits a TV
program through a television
channel.
A multicast source sends multicast data
to a multicast group.
2
A user tunes the TV set to the
channel.
A receiver joins the multicast group.
3
The user starts to watch the TV
program transmitted by the TV
station via the channel.
The receiver starts to receive the
multicast data that the source sends to
the multicast group.
4 The user turns off the TV set. The receiver leaves the multicast group.
Note:
z A multicast source does not necessarily belong to a multicast group. Namely, a
multicast source is not necessarily a multicast data receiver.
z A multicast source can send data to multiple multicast groups at the same time, and
multiple multicast sources can send data to the same multicast group at the same
time.
1.1.5 Advantages and Applications of Multicast
I. Advantages of multicast
Advantages of multicast include:
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