This task is part of a series of optional settings for configuring a standard
wireless network. To reduce unnecessary airtime usage for multicast transmissions, a
device can convert multicast frames to unicast frames under certain conditions or at
all times, and can drop multicast frames when there are no group members present to
receive them. Unicast traffic can increase the reliability of video delivery. If a
wireless client does not receive a unicast frame and does not reply with an ACK, the
AP will retransmit. Multicast traffic does not support wireless frame delivery
confirmation.
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Go to and select a preconfigured policy, then select Next to open the
Wireless
Network page.
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Scroll down to Additional Settings and select the
Customize box associated with the Optional
Settings.
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Scroll down to the Broadcast and Multicast Handling
pane.
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For the Convert IP
Multicast to Unicast option, select one of the following
settings:
- Auto: The device is enabled to convert multicast
frames to unicast when the channel utilization or membership count
conditions are met.
- Always: The device makes the conversion
unconditionally.
- Disable: The device does not use the
multicast-to-unicast conversion feature, but instead follows the
standard 802.11 behavior for sending multicast frames.
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Set the Channel Utilization
Threshold from 1 to 100%.
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Set the Membership Count
Threshold from 1 to 30.
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Select Enable Non-Essential
Broadcast Filtering to reduce unnecessary broadcast and
multicast traffic forwarding (such as AMRP, HSRP, LLC, and STP) from APs with no
registered listeners.
-
Select Enable Multicast
Drop to drop multicast and broadcast traffic, excluding frames
for any of the selected protocols. With the exception of MDNS, by default,
all protocols are selected and are therefore included in multicast and
broadcast traffic. To exclude any protocols in multicast and broadcast traffic, proceed as
follows:
- DHCPv4:
Clear the check-box to drop Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol version
4.
- DHCPv6:
Clear the check box to drop Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol version
6.
- ARP:
Clear the check box to drop Address Resolution Protocol.
- IGMP-query: Clear the check box to drop Internet Group
Management Protocol queries.
- IPv6-Discovery: Clear the check box to drop Internet
Control Message Protocol router discovery messages.
- MDNS:
This check box is not selected by default and is therefore preset to
drop multicast DNS frames. Select this check box to include multicast
DNS frames in multicast and broadcast traffic.
Continue configuring Optional Settings in the
Wireless Networks configuration window.
