Multicast routing is a technique used in computer networks to optimize the transmission of data from one sender to multiple recipients. Instead of sending separate copies of the data to each recipient individually, multicast routing allows the sender to transmit the data once, and the recipients who are interested in receiving it form a multicast group.
This method is particularly beneficial in scenarios where one-to-many communication is required, such as in voice over IP (VOIP), video on demand (VOD), video conferencing, and IP television (IPTV) applications. For example, during a live video conference, the video stream from the sender is multicast to a specific multicast group. Computers, devices, and IP phones that belong to that multicast group can receive the video stream simultaneously.
When you enable multicast routing on your Firebox, it functions as a local multicast router. It takes on the responsibility of forwarding multicast traffic from the source to the intended recipients within your network. By efficiently handling multicast transmissions, the Firebox helps ensure that the multicast data reaches the receivers without unnecessary duplication or delays.