Pim Sparse-Mode (Pim-Sm); Implementation Information; Protocol Overview; Requesting Multicast Traffic - Dell Force10 Z9000 Configuration Manual

PIM Sparse-Mode (PIM-SM)

Protocol-independent multicast sparse-mode (PIM-SM) is supported on Dell Networking OS.
PIM-SM is a multicast protocol that forwards multicast traffic to a subnet only after a request using a PIM Join message; this
behavior is the opposite of PIM-Dense mode, which forwards multicast traffic to all subnets until a request to stop.

Implementation Information

Be aware of the following PIM-SM implementation information.
• The Dell Networking implementation of PIM-SM is based on IETF Internet Draft draft-ietf-pim-sm-v2-new-05.
• The SPT-Threshold is zero, which means that the last-hop designated router (DR) joins the shortest path tree (SPT) to the
source after receiving the first multicast packet.
• Dell Networking OS reduces the number of control messages sent between multicast routers by bundling Join and Prune
requests in the same message.
• Dell Networking OS supports PIM-SM on physical, virtual local area network (VLAN), and port-channel interfaces.
NOTE: Multicast routing is supported across default and non-default VRFs.

Protocol Overview

PIM-SM initially uses unidirectional shared trees to forward multicast traffic; that is, all multicast traffic must flow only from the
rendezvous point (RP) to the receivers.
After a receiver receives traffic from the RP, PM-SM switches to SPT to forward multicast traffic. Every multicast group has an RP
and a unidirectional shared tree (group-specific shared tree).

Requesting Multicast Traffic

A host requesting multicast traffic for a particular group sends an Internet group management protocol (IGMP) Join message to its
gateway router.
The gateway router is then responsible for joining the shared tree to the RP (RPT) so that the host can receive the requested traffic.
1. After receiving an IGMP Join message, the receiver gateway router (last-hop DR) creates a (*,G) entry in its multicast routing
table for the requested group. The interface on which the join message was received becomes the outgoing interface
associated with the (*,G) entry.
2. The last-hop DR sends a PIM Join message to the RP. All routers along the way, including the RP, create an (*,G) entry in their
multicast routing table, and the interface on which the message was received becomes the outgoing interface associated with
the (*,G) entry. This process constructs an RPT branch to the RP.
3. If a host on the same subnet as another multicast receiver sends an IGMP report for the same multicast group, the gateway
takes no action. If a router between the host and the RP receives a PIM Join message for which it already has a (*,G) entry, the
interface on which the message was received is added to the outgoing interface list associated with the (*,G) entry, and the
message is not (and does not need to be) forwarded towards the RP.
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