Netgear GSM7328Sv2 - ProSAFE 24+4 Gigabit Ethernet L3 Managed Stackable Switch Administrator's Guide

26.   

PIM

Protocol-Independent-Multicast

This chapter provides the following examples:

•     PIM-DM 

•     PIM-SM 

The PIM protocol can be configured to operate on IPv4 and IPv6 

networks. Separate CLI commands are provided for IPv4 and IPv6 
operation; however, most configuration options are common to both 
protocols. Therefore, this section describes only IPv4 configuration; 
IPv6 configuration is similar to IPv4.

Multicast protocols are used to deliver multicast packets from one source to multiple receivers. 
They facilitate better bandwidth utilization, and use less host and router processing, making 
them ideal for usage in applications such as video and audio conferencing, whiteboard tools, 
stock distribution tickers, and so on. PIM is a widely used multicast routing protocol. Protocol 
Independent Multicast (PIM) is a standard multicast routing protocol that provides scalable 
inter-domain multicast routing across the Internet, independent of the mechanisms provided by 
any particular unicast routing protocol. There are two types of PIM:

PIM-Dense Mode (PIM-DM) 

PIM-Sparse Mode (PIM-SM) 

PIM-DM

PIM-DM is appropriate for: 

Densely distributed receivers 

A ratio of few senders to many receivers (due to frequent flooding) 

High volume of multicast traffic 

Constant stream of traffic