Multicast

Multicast is a method of transmitting data across a network that allows many clients to receive the same data stream. This minimizes the amount of bandwidth required to transmit the data to a group of network clients. Multicast transmission requires that the routers and switches on the network be multicast-enabled, which means that they can transmit class D Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and interpret multicast information packets.

Note

• Multicast streaming and the WMS Multicast Data Writer plug-in are available only if Windows Media Services 9 Series is running on the following editions of the operating system: Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition and Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition. If you are running Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition, these features are not supported.

Related topics

• Delivering content as a multicast stream
• Using broadcast publishing points
• Understanding terminology