A multicast router identifies packets and determines routing or data distribution to forward them to their destination. It works alongside unicast routers in the Multicast Internet or Backbone, using masking to appear as unicast packets. Two protocols, dense mode and sparse mode routing, are used based on network conditions.
Often referred to as a mrouter, a multicast router configured to acknowledge signaling received in multicast or unicast packets. Based on the type of packet identified, multicast routers then determine the routing or data distribution needed to forward the multicast or unicast packets to their intended destination. Using a series of algorithms as part of the identification process, mrouters quickly start sending orders to the appropriate switches within the network and perform data packet delivery.
The multicast router works side by side with unicast routers as part of a larger network, usually referred to as the Multicast Internet or Backbone. Along the structure of this backbone, various multicast routers will reside alongside the unicast routers. To achieve rapport with unicast routers, mrouters will use the ability to mask data packets to appear to be configured in a unicast pattern. In this way, a multicast router will pass the data packet to the next multicast router in the process, using a unicast router as the conduit for the transmission. The next multicast router will recognize the masqueraded data as a true multicast packet and then determine if the packet must be masqueraded to continue or if the packet is at a point where it can continue in its original multicast format.
Currently, there are two different protocols used by multicast routers. The first is known as dense mode routing. When the network consists of a large number of end users and there is a significant amount of bandwidth available, the multicast router will use dense mode routing. However, if the network contains a relatively small number of end users and operates with a smaller amount of available bandwidth, the multicast router will use the second protocol, known as sparse mode routing. The router will choose the routing method based on current conditions, meaning that as a network adds bandwidth and new users, no existing routers need to be replaced.
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