IP Multicast Addresses

IP multicast addresses are used for single-packet one-to-many delivery. A sending host addresses the IP packet using an IP multicast address; every node on the sending node’s internetwork that is listening for the multicast traffic receives and processes the packet. Unlike broadcast packets, routers forward IP multicast packets and only the hosts listening for the IP multicast traffic are disturbed. IP multicast addresses can be used only as the destination IP address.

As RFC 1112 describes, the set of hosts listening for the traffic of a specific IP multicast address is called a host group. Host group members can be located anywhere on the IP internetwork. They also can join and leave the host group at any time. For routers ...

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