What are the advantages to using multicast?
Multicast is the most efficient method of delivering the same data to multiple receivers at the same time. Servers send only one data stream to reach any number of end-users. This greatly benefits content providers, who don’t need as much raw bandwidth in order to reach a large audience. Using unicast, a server would need to send out as many streams as there are receivers. This increases the CPU load, as well as the amount of bandwidth required to reach that audience. Multicast also benefits Internet providers, as there will only be a single copy of the data streamed across any links. Utilizing multicast can decrease bandwidth across a network, and increase the life of a current network without constantly upgrading links and routers. End users probably won’t see any immediate benefits to multicast, but they should see content and network providers offering new services due to the benefits they see from multicast.
