3Com S7902E, Configuration Manual

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To facilitate description, a network comprising IPv6 PIM–supporting routers is referred to as an “IPv6
PIM domain” in this document.
Introduction to IPv6 PIM-DM
IPv6 PIM-DM is a type of dense mode IPv6 multicast protocol. It uses the “push mode” for IPv6
multicast forwarding, and is suitable for small-sized networks with densely distributed IPv6 multicast
members.
The basic implementation of IPv6 PIM-DM is as follows:
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IPv6 PIM-DM assumes that at least one IPv6 multicast group member exists on each subnet of a
network, and therefore IPv6 multicast data is flooded to all nodes on the network. Then, branches
without IPv6 multicast forwarding are pruned from the forwarding tree, leaving only those branches
that contain receivers. This “flood and prune” process takes place periodically, that is, pruned
branches resume IPv6 multicast forwarding when the pruned state times out and then data is
re-flooded down these branches, and then are pruned again.
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When a new receiver on a previously pruned branch joins an IPv6 multicast group, to reduce the
join latency, IPv6 PIM-DM uses the graft mechanism to resume IPv6 multicast data forwarding to
that branch.
Generally speaking, the IPv6 multicast forwarding path is a source tree, namely a forwarding tree with
the IPv6 multicast source as its “root” and IPv6 multicast group members as its “leaves”. Because the
source tree is the shortest path from the IPv6 multicast source to the receivers, it is also called shortest
path tree (SPT).
How IPv6 PIM-DM Works
The working mechanism of IPv6 PIM-DM is summarized as follows:
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Neighbor discovery
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SPT establishment
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Graft
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Assert
Neighbor discovery
In an IPv6 PIM domain, a PIM router discovers IPv6 PIM neighbors, maintains IPv6 PIM neighboring
relationships with other routers, and builds and maintains SPTs by periodically multicasting IPv6 PIM
hello messages (hereinafter referred to as “hello messages”) to all other IPv6 PIM routers.
Every IPv6 PIM enabled interface on a router sends hello messages periodically, and thus learns the
IPv6 PIM neighboring information pertinent to the interface.