7.6 Multicast routing

The following function is used to add a static multicast route to a node:

void 
Ipv4StaticRouting::AddMulticastRoute (Ipv4Address origin,
                          Ipv4Address group,
                          uint32_t inputInterface,
                          std::vector<uint32_t> outputInterfaces);

A multicast route must specify an origin IP address, a multicast group and an input network interface index as conditions and provide a vector of output network interface indices over which packets matching the conditions are sent.

Typically there are two main types of multicast routes: routes of the first kind are used during forwarding. All of the conditions must be exlicitly provided. The second kind of routes are used to get packets off of a local node. The difference is in the input interface. Routes for forwarding will always have an explicit input interface specified. Routes off of a node will always set the input interface to a wildcard specified by the index Ipv4RoutingProtocol::IF\_INDEX\_ANY.

For routes off of a local node wildcards may be used in the origin and multicast group addresses. The wildcard used for Ipv4Adresses is that address returned by Ipv4Address::GetAny () - typically "0.0.0.0". Usage of a wildcard allows one to specify default behavior to varying degrees.

For example, making the origin address a wildcard, but leaving the multicast group specific allows one (in the case of a node with multiple interfaces) to create different routes using different output interfaces for each multicast group.

If the origin and multicast addresses are made wildcards, you have created essentially a default multicast address that can forward to multiple interfaces. Compare this to the actual default multicast address that is limited to specifying a single output interface for compatibility with existing functionality in other systems.

Another command sets the default multicast route:

void 
Ipv4StaticRouting::SetDefaultMulticastRoute (uint32_t outputInterface);

This is the multicast equivalent of the unicast version SetDefaultRoute. We tell the routing system what to do in the case where a specific route to a destination multicast group is not found. The system forwards packets out the specified interface in the hope that "something out there" knows better how to route the packet. This method is only used in initially sending packets off of a host. The default multicast route is not consulted during forwarding - exact routes must be specified using AddMulticastRoute for that case.

Since we're basically sending packets to some entity we think may know better what to do, we don't pay attention to "subtleties" like origin address, nor do we worry about forwarding out multiple interfaces. If the default multicast route is set, it is returned as the selected route from LookupStatic irrespective of origin or multicast group if another specific route is not found.

Finally, a number of additional functions are provided to fetch and remove multicast routes:

  uint32_t GetNMulticastRoutes (void) const;

  Ipv4MulticastRoute *GetMulticastRoute (uint32_t i) const;

  Ipv4MulticastRoute *GetDefaultMulticastRoute (void) const;

  bool RemoveMulticastRoute (Ipv4Address origin,
                             Ipv4Address group,
                             uint32_t inputInterface);

  void RemoveMulticastRoute (uint32_t index);

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