The following are the restrictions for configuring IGMP:

• The switch supports IGMP Versions 1, 2 , and 3.

  Note	For IGMP Version 3, only IGMP Version 3 BISS (Basic IGMPv3 Snooping Support) is supported.

• IGMP Version 3 uses new membership report messages that might not be correctly recognized by older IGMP snooping switches.
• IGMPv3 can operate with both ISM and SSM. In ISM, both exclude and include mode reports are applicable. In SSM, only include mode reports are accepted by the last-hop router. Exclude mode reports are ignored.

Devices That Run IGMPv1

IGMPv1 devices send IGMP queries to the “all-hosts” multicast address of 224.0.0.1 to solicit multicast groups with active multicast receivers. The multicast receivers also can send IGMP reports to the device to notify it that they are interested in receiving a particular multicast stream. Hosts can send the report asynchronously or in response to the IGMP queries sent by the device. If more than one multicast receiver exists for the same multicast group, only one of these hosts sends an IGMP report message; the other hosts suppress their report messages.

In IGMPv1, there is no election of an IGMP querier. If more than one device on the segment exists, all the devices send periodic IGMP queries. IGMPv1 has no special mechanism by which the hosts can leave the group. If the hosts are no longer interested in receiving multicast packets for a particular group, they simply do not reply to the IGMP query packets sent from the device. The device continues sending query packets. If the device does not hear a response in three IGMP queries, the group times out and the device stops sending multicast packets on the segment for the group. If the host later wants to receive multicast packets after the timeout period, the host simply sends a new IGMP join to the device, and the device begins to forward the multicast packet again.

If there are multiple devices on a LAN, a designated router (DR) must be elected to avoid duplicating multicast traffic for connected hosts. PIM devices follow an election process to select a DR. The PIM device with the highest IP address becomes the DR.

The DR is responsible for the following tasks:

• Sending PIM register and PIM Join and Prune messages toward the rendezvous point (RP) to inform it about host group membership.
• Sending IGMP host-query messages.
• Sending host-query messages by default every 60 seconds in order to keep the IGMP overhead on hosts and networks very low.

Devices That Run IGMPv2

IGMPv2 improves the query messaging capabilities of IGMPv1.

The query and membership report messages in IGMPv2 are identical to the IGMPv1 messages with two exceptions:

• IGMPv2 query messages are broken into two categories: general queries (identical to IGMPv1 queries) and group-specific queries.
• IGMPv1 membership reports and IGMPv2 membership reports have different IGMP type codes.

IGMPv2 also enhances IGMP by providing support for the following capabilities:

• Querier election process--Provides the capability for IGMPv2 devices to elect the IGMP querier without having to rely on the multicast routing protocol to perform the process.
• Maximum Response Time field--A new field in query messages permits the IGMP querier to specify the maximum query-response time. This field permits the tuning of the query-response process to control response burstiness and to fine-tune leave latencies.
• Group-Specific Query messages--Permits the IGMP querier to perform the query operation on a specific group instead of all groups.
• Leave-Group messages--Provides hosts with a method of notifying devices on the network that they wish to leave the group.

Unlike IGMPv1, in which the DR and the IGMP querier are typically the same device, in IGMPv2 the two functions are decoupled. The DR and the IGMP querier are selected based on different criteria and may be different devices on the same subnet. The DR is the device with the highest IP address on the subnet, whereas the IGMP querier is the device with the lowest IP address.

Query messages are used to elect the IGMP querier as follows:

1. When IGMPv2 devices start, they each multicast a general query message to the all-systems group address of 224.0.0.1 with their interface address in the source IP address field of the message.
2. When an IGMPv2 device receives a general query message, the device compares the source IP address in the message with its own interface address. The device with the lowest IP address on the subnet is elected the IGMP querier.
3. All devices (excluding the querier) start the query timer, which is reset whenever a general query message is received from the IGMP querier. If the query timer expires, it is assumed that the IGMP querier has gone down, and the election process is performed again to elect a new IGMP querier.

By default, the timer is two times the query interval.

IGMPv1 Leave Process

There is no leave-group message in IGMPv1 to notify the devices on the subnet that a host no longer wants to receive the multicast traffic from a specific group. The host simply stops processing traffic for the multicast group and ceases responding to IGMP queries with IGMP membership reports for the group. As a result, the only way IGMPv1 devices know that there are no longer any active receivers for a particular multicast group on a subnet is when the devices stop receiving membership reports. To facilitate this process, IGMPv1 devices associate a countdown timer with an IGMP group on a subnet. When a membership report is received for the group on the subnet, the timer is reset. For IGMPv1 devices, this timeout interval is typically three times the query interval (3 minutes). This timeout interval means that the device may continue to forward multicast traffic onto the subnet for up to 3 minutes after all hosts have left the multicast group.

IGMPv2 Leave Process

IGMPv2 incorporates a leave-group message that provides the means for a host to indicate that it wishes to stop receiving multicast traffic for a specific group. When an IGMPv2 host leaves a multicast group, if it was the last host to respond to a query with a membership report for that group, it sends a leave-group message to the all-devices multicast group (224.0.0.2).

IGMPv3 Leave Process

IGMPv3 enhances the leave process by introducing the capability for a host to stop receiving traffic from a particular group, source, or channel in IGMP by including or excluding sources, groups, or channels in IGMPv3 membership reports.

You can configure the switch as a member of a multicast group and discover multicast reachability in a network. If all the multicast-capable routers and multilayer switches that you administer are members of a multicast group, pinging that group causes all of these devices to respond. The devices respond to ICMP echo-request packets addressed to a group of which they are members. Another example is the multicast trace-route tools provided in the software.

Caution

Performing this procedure might impact the CPU performance because the CPU will receive all data traffic for the group address.

This procedure is optional.

The switch sends IGMP host-query messages to find which multicast groups have members on attached local networks. The switch then forwards to these group members all packets addressed to the multicast group. You can place a filter on each interface to restrict the multicast groups that hosts on the subnet serviced by the interface can join.

This procedure is optional.

By default, the switch uses IGMP Version 2, which provides features such as the IGMP query timeout and the maximum query response time.

All systems on the subnet must support the same version. The switch does not automatically detect Version 1 systems and switch to Version 1. You can mix Version 1 and Version 2 hosts on the subnet because Version 2 routers or switches always work correctly with IGMPv1 hosts.

Configure the switch for Version 1 if your hosts do not support Version 2.

This procedure is optional.

The switch periodically sends IGMP host-query messages to discover which multicast groups are present on attached networks. These messages are sent to the all-hosts multicast group (224.0.0.1) with a time-to-live (TTL) of 1. The switch sends host-query messages to refresh its knowledge of memberships present on the network. If, after some number of queries, the software discovers that no local hosts are members of a multicast group, the software stops forwarding multicast packets to the local network from remote origins for that group and sends a prune message upstream toward the source.

The switch elects a PIM designated router (DR) for the LAN (subnet). The designated router is responsible for sending IGMP host-query messages to all hosts on the LAN. In sparse mode, the designated router also sends PIM register and PIM join messages toward the RP router. With IGMPv2, the DR is the router or multilayer switch with the highest IP address. With IGMPv1, the DR is elected according to the multicast routing protocol that runs on the LAN.

This procedure is optional.

If you are using IGMPv2, you can specify the period of time before the switch takes over as the querier for the interface. By default, the switch waits twice the query interval period controlled by the ip igmp query-interval interface configuration command. After that time, if the switch has received no queries, it becomes the querier.

This procedure is optional.

If you are using IGMPv2, you can change the maximum query response time advertised in IGMP queries. The maximum query response time enables the switch to quickly detect that there are no more directly connected group members on a LAN. Decreasing the value enables the switch to prune groups faster.

This procedure is optional.

At various times, either there is not a group member on a network segment or a host that cannot report its group membership by using IGMP. However, you may want multicast traffic to be sent to that network segment. The following commands are used to pull multicast traffic down to a network segment:

• ip igmp join-group—The switch accepts the multicast packets in addition to forwarding them. Accepting the multicast packets prevents the switch from fast switching.
• ip igmp static-group—The switch does not accept the packets itself, but only forwards them. This method enables fast switching. The outgoing interface appears in the IGMP cache, but the switch itself is not a member, as evidenced by lack of an L (local) flag in the multicast route entry.

This procedure is optional.

You can display specific statistics, such as the contents of IP routing tables, caches, and databases.

Note	This release does not support per-route statistics.

You can display information to learn resource usage and solve network problems. You can also display information about node reachability and discover the routing path that packets of your device are taking through the network.

This example shows how to enable the switch to join multicast group 255.2.2.2:

Switch(config)# interface gigabitethernet1/0/1
Switch(config-if)# ip igmp join-group 255.2.2.2
Switch(config-if)#

This example shows how to configure hosts attached to a port as able to join only group 255.2.2.2:

Switch(config)# access-list 1 255.2.2.2 0.0.0.0
Switch(config-if)# interface gigabitethernet1/0/1
Switch(config-if)# ip igmp access-group 1

Related Documents

Error Message Decoder

Standards and RFCs

MIBs

Technical Assistance