Whether that content consists of employee training courses, shareholder meeting reports or product announcements, using multicast technology saves bandwidth and server load. Not a separate backbone, the M-Bone is an address space laid on the existing backbones that operate the Internet and intranets. The M-Bone was realized at the outset of IP address classes, and space was set aside for experimental use. Multicast sessions are assigned a multicast group ID, which in essence is an IP address within the Class D range. A host may join as many multicast groups as needed and is able to leave at any time.
Physical location is irrelevant, as is the number of members in a group.
It's up to the multicast routers to distribute the packets to all members of the group that are downstream. When a host wishes to join a group, it sends an IGMP message to the multicast router, indicating the sessions it wishes to receive. The multicast router begins broadcasting the sessions requested to the member's subnet, and the member adds the group ID address to its interface to begin reception. Scalability increases as more members join because there is a greater chance of locating a multicast router on a nearby upstream network. RFP Builder Digital Convergence Build the perfect telecom solution without getting lost in the jungle.