Multicast BGP
Encyclopedia
Multiprotocol Extensions for BGP (MBGP), sometimes referred to as Multiprotocol BGP or Multicast BGP and defined in IETF RFC 4760, is an extension to Border Gateway Protocol
that allows different types of addresses (known as address families) to be distributed in parallel. Whereas standard BGP supports only IPv4 unicast
addresses, Multiprotocol BGP supports IPv4 and IPv6 address
es and it supports unicast and multicast variants of each. Multiprotocol BGP allows information about the topology of IP Multicast
-capable routers to be exchanged separately from the topology of normal IPv4
unicast routers. Thus, it allows a multicast routing topology different from the unicast routing topology. Although MBGP enables the exchange of inter-domain multicast routing information, other protocols such as the Protocol Independent Multicast
family are needed to build trees and forward multicast traffic.
Border Gateway Protocol
The Border Gateway Protocol is the protocol backing the core routing decisions on the Internet. It maintains a table of IP networks or 'prefixes' which designate network reachability among autonomous systems . It is described as a path vector protocol...
that allows different types of addresses (known as address families) to be distributed in parallel. Whereas standard BGP supports only IPv4 unicast
Unicast
right|200pxIn computer networking, unicast transmission is the sending of messages to a single network destination identified by a unique address.-Addressing methodologies:...
addresses, Multiprotocol BGP supports IPv4 and IPv6 address
IPv6 address
An Internet Protocol Version 6 address is a numerical label that is used to identify a network interface of a computer or other network node participating in an IPv6-enabled computer network....
es and it supports unicast and multicast variants of each. Multiprotocol BGP allows information about the topology of IP Multicast
IP Multicast
IP multicast is a method of sending Internet Protocol datagrams to a group of interested receivers in a single transmission. It is often employed for streaming media applications on the Internet and private networks. The method is the IP-specific version of the general concept of multicast...
-capable routers to be exchanged separately from the topology of normal IPv4
IPv4
Internet Protocol version 4 is the fourth revision in the development of the Internet Protocol and the first version of the protocol to be widely deployed. Together with IPv6, it is at the core of standards-based internetworking methods of the Internet...
unicast routers. Thus, it allows a multicast routing topology different from the unicast routing topology. Although MBGP enables the exchange of inter-domain multicast routing information, other protocols such as the Protocol Independent Multicast
Protocol Independent Multicast
Protocol-Independent Multicast is a family of multicast routing protocols for Internet Protocol networks that provide one-to-many and many-to-many distribution of data over a LAN, WAN or the Internet...
family are needed to build trees and forward multicast traffic.