Overview

Protocol Independent Multicast (PIM) provides IP multicast forwarding by leveraging unicast static routes or unicast routing tables generated by any unicast routing protocol, such as RIP, OSPF, IS-IS, or BGP. PIM is not dependent on any particular unicast routing protocol, and it uses the underlying unicast routing to generate a routing table with routes.

PIM uses the RPF mechanism to implement multicast forwarding. When a multicast packet arrives on an interface of the device, it undergoes an RPF check. If the RPF check succeeds, the device creates a multicast routing entry and forwards the packet. If the RPF check fails, the device discards the packet. For more information about RPF, see "Configuring multicast routing and forwarding."

Based on the implementation mechanism, PIM includes the following categories:

• Protocol Independent Multicast–Dense Mode (PIM-DM)

• Protocol Independent Multicast–Sparse Mode (PIM-SM)

• Protocol Independent Multicast Source-Specific Multicast (PIM-SSM)

The term "PIM domain" in this chapter refers to a network composed of PIM routers.

The term "interface" in this chapter collectively refers to VLAN interfaces and Layer 3 Ethernet interfaces. You can set an Ethernet port as a Layer 3 interface by using the port link-mode route command (see Layer 2—LAN Switching Configuration Guide).