What Problems Does Multicast Solve?

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In this video, Knox Hutchinson covers the point of multicast. Multicast differs from unicast in important ways, but maybe the most important thing to ask is what problems multicast even solves. If you design networks, you'll need to design them with multicast in mind - but that can take up resources and time - so why bother?

Understanding multicasting requires a solid understanding of unicast. A unicast route is defined by one IP address (or node) communicating to another direct IP address (or node). To do that, a device forms a unicast packet that gets routed throughout the network until it reaches its direct endpoint.

A broadcast is typically used on ethernet segments. Generally speaking, if a device sends a broadcast to its local switch, unless that switch is trunked upward, the broadcasts would be sent out all the other ports on the same VLAN. The point of the broadcast is that it's a one-to-many, but it's contained within its Layer 2 segment.

But if you're trying to set up streaming data — like a video call — to multiple resources throughout the entire enterprise, multicast is how to accomplish it. Multicast is 1:many, and not restricted to VLAN — it's broadcast throughout the entire enterprise to any devices who want to hear it.

There are many different approaches and design techniques to implementing multicast, but fundamentally it's about making it possible for a 1:many relationship across an enterprise, in spite of VLANs and other obstacles.

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