Multicast provides simplified extension of internal video and data delivery to remote locations.
Virtualized multicast enables multiple VPN routing instances on devices and supports various unicast routing protocols so that you can provide the services of many virtual routers from one physical device.
You can configure multicast routing support with the Virtual Routing and Forwarding (VRF) Lite feature and you can use VRF Lite to emulate many virtual routers with one router.
IGMP snooping
IGMP in Layer 2 virtual services networks (VSN)
IGMP in Layer 3 VSNs
To implement multicast virtualization, you must perform the following tasks:
Create a VRF. For more information about how to create and configure a VRF, see Create a VRF Instance.
Create a VLAN and associate it with the VRF.
Enable one of the following: IGMP snooping on the VLAN, Layer 2 VSN, or Layer 3 VSN.
If you use IGMP snooping on the VLAN, ensure the IGMP version on the multicast hosts or other network devices is either the same as the version on the VLAN, or enable compatibility mode.
Multicast virtualization does not support PIM. The switch supports IGMP with PIM only in the Global Router.
VRF Lite provides independent IPv4 forwarding instances and independent routing instances (contexts), which can reside on the same or different VLANs and ports.
While forwarding and routing instances are mapped to IP interfaces, incoming traffic is classified into a VLAN and IP interface and, depending on the IP interface, routed context traffic is forwarded.