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Table of Contents
CCIE Routing & Switching

Unit 1: Preparation
Unit 2: Switching
Unit 3: IP Routing
Unit 4: RIP
Unit 5: EIGRP
Unit 6: OSPF
Unit 7: BGP
Unit 8: Multicast
Introduction to Multicast

Multicast IP Addresses Overview

Multicast MAC to IP Address mapping

Multicast IGMP Version 1

Multicast IGMP Version 2

Multicast IGMP Version 3

Multicast IGMP Snooping

IGMP Snooping without Router

Multicast IGMP Filtering

Multicast CGMP (Cisco Group Management Protocol)

Multicast Routing

Multicast PIM Dense Mode

Multicast PIM Sparse Mode

Multicast PIM Auto RP

Multicast PIM BSR (Bootstrap)

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RPF (Reverse Path Forwarding)

PIM Designated Router

PIM Assert

Multicast PIM Prune Override

Multicast PIM Register Message

Anycast RP

Multicast Bidirectional PIM

Multicast Stub Routing and IGMP Helper

Source Speci c Multicast

Multicast PIM Accept RP

Multicast PIM Accept Register

Auto-RP Mapping agent behind Spoke

PIM NBMA Mode

Embedded RP for IPv6

IPv6 Multicast BSR and RP

Unit 9: IPv6
Unit 10: Quality of Service
Unit 11: Security
Unit 12: System Management
Unit 13: Network Services
Unit 14: MPLS

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Multicast PIM Designated Router

7 votes

When we con gure PIM on our routers we will establish PIM neighbor adjacencies and the PIM
hello messages are also used to elect a designated router for each multi-access network. The
DR is the router that will forward the PIM join message from the receiver to the RP (rendezvous
point).

Since the DR is used to forward PIM join messages to the RP, it doesn’t do much good for
multicast dense mode where we don’t have a RP. The only exception is when you use IGMPv1…
in that case the PIM DR will work as the IGMP query router because IGMPv1 doesn’t have a
query router election.

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Don’t mix up the PIM DR with the PIM forwarder! To decide which router will forward
multicast tra c we have the PIM Assert mechanism.

Let’s take a look at the following topology to see how the DR works:

Above we see a small network with 4 routers. R1 is our RP and R4 is a receiver. As you can see
R2,R3 and R4 are connected to the same multi-access network (switch). When R4 sends a PIM
join message both R2 and R3 would receive it and forward it to R1. This would mean that we
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have 2 multicast streams which results in duplicate packets and wasted bandwidth.

To avoid this problem we will elect the DR. R2 or R3 will become the designated router and only
one of them will forward the PIM join message to our RP.

Let’s con gure this small network and take a close look how the DR works:

R1(config)#ip multicast‐routing
R1(config)#ip pim rp‐address 1.1.1.1

R1(config)#interface loopback 0
R1(config‐if)#ip pim sparse‐mode

R1(config)#interface fastEthernet 0/0

R1(config‐if)#ip pim sparse‐mode

R1(config)#interface fastEthernet 0/1

R1(config‐if)#ip pim sparse‐mode

We will use the loopback interface on R1 to advertise as the RP.

R2(config)#ip multicast‐routing
R2(config)#ip pim rp‐address 1.1.1.1

R2(config)#interface fastEthernet 0/0

R2(config‐if)#ip pim sparse‐mode

R2(config)#interface fastEthernet 0/1

R2(config‐if)#ip pim sparse‐mode

R3(config)#ip multicast‐routing
R3(config)#ip pim rp‐address 1.1.1.1

R3(config)#interface fastEthernet 0/0

R3(config‐if)#ip pim sparse‐mode

R3(config)#interface fastEthernet 0/1

R3(config‐if)#ip pim sparse‐mode

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R4(config)#ip multicast‐routing

R2,R3 are con gured for sparse mode and a static RP, R4 is only a receiver so we don’t need
PIM.

R2#show ip pim neighbor

PIM Neighbor Table
Mode: B ‐ Bidir Capable, DR ‐ Designated Router, N ‐ Default DR Priority,
S ‐ State Refresh Capable
Neighbor Interface Uptime/Expires Ver DR
Address Prio/Mode
192.168.12.1 FastEthernet0/0 01:24:25/00:01:28 v2 1 / S
192.168.234.3 FastEthernet0/1 01:24:29/00:01:26 v2 1 / DR S

R3 has been elected as the Designated router on this segment. Why? because by default the
highest IP address will determine who becomes the PIM DR. Now let’s enable a debug to see
what the designated router really does for us:

R2#debug ip pim
PIM debugging is on

R3#debug ip pim
PIM debugging is on

We will use debug ip pim on R2 and R3. Now we will join a multicast group on R4:

R4(config)#interface fastEthernet 0/0

R4(config‐if)#ip igmp join‐group 239.1.1.1

R4 will join multicast group 239.1.1.1. Now let’s see what R2 and R3 think of this:

R2#
Check RP 1.1.1.1 into the (*, 239.1.1.1) entry

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Above you see that R2 doesn’t do much with it, it does add 1.1.1.1 as the RP for multicast group
239.1.1.1. You can see it here:

R2#show ip mroute 239.1.1.1

IP Multicast Routing Table
Flags: D ‐ Dense, S ‐ Sparse, B ‐ Bidir Group, s ‐ SSM Group, C ‐ Connected,
L ‐ Local, P ‐ Pruned, R ‐ RP‐bit set, F ‐ Register flag,
T ‐ SPT‐bit set, J ‐ Join SPT, M ‐ MSDP created entry,
X ‐ Proxy Join Timer Running, A ‐ Candidate for MSDP Advertisement,
U ‐ URD, I ‐ Received Source Specific Host Report,
Z ‐ Multicast Tunnel, z ‐ MDT‐data group sender,
Y ‐ Joined MDT‐data group, y ‐ Sending to MDT‐data group
Outgoing interface flags: H ‐ Hardware switched, A ‐ Assert winner
Timers: Uptime/Expires
Interface state: Interface, Next‐Hop or VCD, State/Mode

(*, 239.1.1.1), 00:11:38/00:02:19, RP 1.1.1.1, flags: SP

Incoming interface: FastEthernet0/0, RPF nbr 192.168.12.1
Outgoing interface list: Null

Above you see that it created an entry for the 239.1.1.1 group address with 1.1.1.1 as the RP.
Now let’s take a look at R3:

R3#
Check RP 1.1.1.1 into the (*, 239.1.1.1) entry
Building Triggered (*,G) Join / (S,G,RP‐bit) Prune message for 239.1.1.1
Insert (*,239.1.1.1) join in nbr 192.168.13.1's queue
Building Join/Prune packet for nbr 192.168.13.1
Adding v2 (1.1.1.1/32, 239.1.1.1), WC‐bit, RPT‐bit, S‐bit Join
Send v2 join/prune to 192.168.13.1 (FastEthernet0/0)

This is a more interesting output. First it adds 1.1.1.1 as the RP for 239.1.1.1 but you can also
see that it builds a PIM join message and forwards it to our RP. This is because R3 is our
designated router.

By default the highest IP address determines who will become the DR. This is because the
default priority is 1. Let's change the priority so that R2 becomes the DR:

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R2(config)#interface fa0/1
R2(config‐if)#ip pim dr‐priority 100

The router with the highest priority becomes the DR. If you still have the debug enabled this is
what you see:

R2#
PIM(0): Changing DR for FastEthernet0/1, from 192.168.234.3 to 192.168.234.2
(this system)
%PIM‐5‐DRCHG: DR change from neighbor 192.168.234.3 to 192.168.234.2 on
interface FastEthernet0/1

R3#
PIM(0): Changing DR for FastEthernet0/1, from 192.168.234.3 to 192.168.234.2
%PIM‐5‐DRCHG: DR change from neighbor 192.168.234.3 to 192.168.234.2 on
interface FastEthernet0/1

As you can see it's preemptive, it will take e ect immediately. The designated router does
something else besides forwarding the PIM join messages. The DR is also responsible for
sending PIM register messages to the RP once a source starts sending packets to the multicast
group address. Let's send some packets to the multicast group address to see how it works:

R4#ping 239.1.1.1 repeat 9999

Type escape sequence to abort.

Sending 9999, 100‐byte ICMP Echos to 239.1.1.1, timeout is 2 seconds:

Reply to request 0 from 192.168.234.4, 8 ms

I'll send some packets to the multicast group address on R4. This will trigger a PIM register
message for the source to the RP. Take a look at R2:

R2#
Send v2 Register to 1.1.1.1 for 192.168.234.4, group 239.1.1.1

As the DR it's responsible for registering the source at the rendezvous point.

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Last but not least, we have a failover mechanism. Unlike OSPF there is no BDR (Backup
Designated Router) in PIM. When the DR fails, other routers will see this because their PIM
neighbor adjacency will go down. A new election will take place and another router will become
the DR.

This new DR already has the IGMP state for the required multicast groups because it also heard
the IGMP membership reports from receivers on the segment. The only thing the new DR has
to do is send a PIM join to the RP and our tra c ow will continue.

I hope this has been helpful to you, if you have any more multicast questions just leave a
comment!

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Home › Forums › Multicast PIM Designated Router

This topic contains 13 replies, has 2 voices, and was last updated by Michael M 10 months, 2
weeks ago.

Viewing 13 posts - 1 through 13 (of 13 total)

Author
Posts | Subscribe
August 21, 2013 at 16:13 #13860 Reply

Kevin

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Thanks Rene, a very useful tutorial on ip pim, espescially on Designated Router, how a receiver
joins a group and how the Rendezvous Point is mapped to the group. Fundamentals of ip pim
sparse mode which i am working with. Thank you.

August 28, 2013 at 14:08 #13861 Reply



Rene Molenaar
Keymaster
You are welcome Kevin, glad to hear you like it.

September 9, 2013 at 11:35 #13862 Reply

Ajay
Thank You..

January 21, 2014 at 05:04 #13863 Reply

Liqua
Very nice explanation – appreciated.

January 31, 2014 at 14:44 #13864 Reply

Tanveer
Too good. it is very crisp and clear. Answered to the point.
Too good. Keep posting similar posts for other multicast technologies as well.

Thanks,

February 20, 2014 at 13:27 #13865 Reply

Prad
Rene,
Awesome post, Thanks for the clear explanation!

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1) If I understand correctly, DR is per each Link (segment)?

2) “This new DR already has the IGMP state for the required multicast groups because it also
heard the IGMP membership reports from receivers on the segment. The only thing the new DR
has to do is send a PIM join to the RP and our tra c ow will continue.”

one query. Why will new DR maintains IGMP state?– Only DR has to maintain this, right?
Would it NOT Prune PIM (*, G) and (S, G) States when the DR fail over happened? Will there be a
tra c loss until a new DR is elected?

3) DR is only present in PIM-SM? No DR in PIM-SSM& DM, right?

March 7, 2014 at 09:23 #13866 Reply

Brahimovic
Thank you, it’s explained very well

March 10, 2014 at 09:27 #13867 Reply

Alexander
Thank you. Awesome explanation and very structured. Waiting for PIM-SSM…

August 9, 2015 at 19:52 #13868 Reply

Michael M
Participant
Great Post Rene,
Have a question.
Your statement here “As you can see R2,R3 and R4 are connected to the same multi-access
network (switch). When R4 sends a PIM join message both R2 and R3 would receive it and
forward it to R1.”

– Wouldnt R4 send an IGMP join since it doesnt have PIM enabled?

– What is the source address for that Join? If both R2 and R3 receive the join does that mean its
sent using the unicast address of R4 and the destination of 224.0.0.13? Just need clari cation on
that point.

Thanks !

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August 10, 2015 at 20:11 #13869 Reply


Rene Molenaar
Keymaster
Hi Michael,

IGMP join is normally used by a end device, I’ve used a router but imagine that R4 is a computer
or something. It doesn’t need PIM.

The source address will be 192.168.234.4 with destination 239.1.1.1 (the group you want to
join). The 224.0.0.13 multicast address is used between PIM routers.

Here’s a wireshark capture of a IGMP join:

https://www.cloudshark.org/captures/015f44080e71

Rene

August 10, 2015 at 20:48 #13870 Reply

Michael M
Participant
Got it. So what would be the source address of the PIM Join as it makes it way to the RP?

August 10, 2015 at 21:10 #13871 Reply

Rene Molenaar
Keymaster
The source IP address of the PIM join will be the interface that is closest to the RP, its
destination will be 224.0.0.13.

August 10, 2015 at 21:15 #13872 Reply

Michael M
Participant
It all makes sense now…Multicast isnt that hard once you put it into small pieces. Thanks Rene!!!
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