What is the MBONE?
The Multicast backBONE (MBONE) is a multicast-capable portion of the Internet backbone. Multicast support over IP is provided by a protocol called IGMP (Internet Group Management Protocol) which is defined in RFC 1112. The MBONE is still a research prototype, but it extends through most of the core of the Internet (including North America, Europe, and Australia). It is typically used to relay multimedia (audio and low bandwidth video) presentations from a single source to multiple receiving sites dispersed over the Internet. A slightly dated MBONE FAQ is available by anonymous FTP from
