The Cisco Data Centers | Multicast course aims to provide a resource for network engineers to understand and deploy IP multicast technology for today’s data centers and enterprise networks. And to help CCIE Data Center certification candidates prepare well for their exams.

It begins with an introduction to the basic concepts of multicast through the use of graphics and short explanations. It answers the question: What is multicast, and why is it needed?

This Multicast course then discusses Layer-2 (MAC) and Layer-3 (IP) Multicast addressing. It also shows how to map the IPv4 Multicast address to the Multicast MAC address.

The Cisco Data Centers | Multicast course takes a deep dive into the Multicast protocols, including the host-to-router signaling protocol i.e. IGMP, and the router-to-router control plane protocol i.e. PIM.

After building the Multicast foundational knowledge, it covers more advanced topics such as dynamic RPs (Auto-RP & BSR), anycast RP (PIM anycast & MSDP), and bidirectional PIM (Bidir PIM).

This Multicast learning material has been designed with a broad audience in mind while specifically targeting Cisco certification candidates (CCIE Data Center / CCNP Data Center), network architects, engineers, and operators. You do not have to be a networking professional or data center administrator to benefit from this course.

This professional development and foundational learning multicast course contains the following:

1. High-quality, technical, on-demand videos cover all essential multicast topics.

2. Lab demos for a better explanation of all the features learned in the course.

3. Quizzes to confirm correct understanding.

4. External resources to enrich your multicast knowledge.

5. Packet captures and protocol message formats for detailed information.

6. Downloadable PDF slides for easy referencing.

   
   

The lectures in this course were divided into 7 sections:

• Multicast Fundamentals: Covers Multicast basics and Multicast L2 and L3 addressing.

• IGMP Protocol (Host-to-Router Multicast): You will learn the Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP), which is used between the Multicast receiver and its Multicast router (Querier).

• IGMP Features: This section covers IGMP Querier, IGMP Snooping, and IGMP version 3.

• PIM Protocol (Router-to-Router Multicast): You will learn the Protocol Independent Multicast (PIM), and you will understand how Multicast traffic is forwarded in layer-3 networks.

• Dynamic RPs: In this section, you will learn two dynamic methods (Auto-RP and BSR) to assign RP addresses to PIM-enabled Nexus switches.

• Anycast RP: In this section, you will learn how to implement redundancy in PIM RP by using PIM Anycast RP and Anycast RP with MSDP.

• PIM-Bidir & Phantom RP: This section covers the Bidirectional PIM (Bidir PIM) in Nexus switches and will learn how to use phantom RP for redundancy.