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IPv4 Multicasting Tools and Settings

  • Article

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

In this section

  • IP Multicasting Tools

  • IP Multicasting Registry Entries

This section describes the tools and registry entries used to configure Routing and Remote Access routers for multicasting and to troubleshoot multicast forwarding.

IP Multicasting Tools

The following tools are associated with IPv4 multicasting.

Mcast.exe: Multicast Packet Tool

Category

The Multicast Packet Tool is included with Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit tools.

Version compatibility

The Multicast Packet Tool runs on, and targets, Windows XP Professional and the Windows Server 2003 family.

The Multicast Packet Tool is a command-line tool that you can use to send multicast packets or to listen for packets being sent to a multicast group address. This tool is useful for testing multicast connectivity between computers on an internetwork.

To find more information about the Multicast Packet Tool, see “Resource Kit Tools Help” in the Tools and Settings Collection.

Mrinfo.exe

Category

The Mrinfo.exe tool is included with Windows 2000, Windows XP Professional, and Windows Server 2003.

Version compatibility

The Mrinfo.exe tool runs on Windows 2000, Windows XP Professional, and the Windows Server 2003 family. You can use this tool for troubleshooting multicasting on Windows 2000-based and Windows Server 2003-based routers.

This tool displays the configuration of a multicast router to help troubleshoot multicast forwarding problems. It sends an Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) query message to the specified router, which responds to the query with the version number, list of interfaces, list of neighbors on each interface, metrics, Time to Live (TTL) thresholds, and other data.

For more information about Mrinfo.exe, see “Command Line References” in the Tools and Settings Collection.

Mtrace

Category

Like Windows 2000, the Windows Server 2003 family does not provide a version of Mtrace, a multicast tracing tool.

Version compatibility

Although the Windows Server 2003 family does not provide a version of Mtrace, the server running Routing and Remote Access does respond to command queries from non-Microsoft Mtrace tools.

You can use an Mtrace tool for troubleshooting multicast forwarding problems. It traces a multicast path from the source to a receiver.

Netsh Commands for Multicast Routing

Category

The Netsh commands for multicast routing are included with the Windows Server 2003 operating system.

Version compatibility

The Netshcommands for multicast routing run on, and can target, the Windows Server 2003 family and Windows 2000 Server.

The Netsh tool provides command-line support for many of the multicast display and configuration options provided by the Routing and Remote Access Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in.

The Netsh commands that support Routing and Remote Access server administration for multicasting are available from the command prompt for the netshrouting ip context.

The command prompt for the Netsh routing ip show context provides support for displaying multicast forwarding table entries and statistics for multicast forwarding table entries.

The command prompt for the Netsh routing ip igmp context provides support for configuring specific interfaces and for displaying group members on a specific interface or on all-router interfaces.

For more information about Netsh.exe, see “Command Line References” in the Tools and Settings Collection.

Rrasmgmt.msc: Routing and Remote Access Snap-In

Category

The Routing and Remote Access snap-in is included with Windows 2000 Server and the Windows Server 2003 family.

Version compatibility

The Routing and Remote Access snap-in runs on Windows 2000, Windows XP Professional, and on the Windows Server 2003 family. You can use this tool to manage Windows 2000-based and Windows Server 2003-based routers.

The Routing and Remote Access snap-in configures and troubleshoots Routing and Remote Access multicast routers. For example, it supports the following:

  • Adding interfaces to the router, including demand-dial interfaces

  • Adding routing protocols

  • Configuring for IGMP router mode or IGMP proxy mode

  • Configuring IGMP router-mode settings

  • Setting administrative scopes

  • Configuring multicast heartbeats

  • Setting IGMP event-logging levels

In addition, the snap-in displays the following:

  • Multicast statistics (statistics compiled by IP for each multicast group)

  • Multicast forwarding table (used by IP to forward IP multicast traffic)

  • IGMP group table (group membership information for all groups registered on all IGMP router-mode interfaces)

  • IGMP interface group table (group membership information for all groups registered on a specific IGMP router-mode interface)

IP Multicasting Registry Entries

The following registry entries are associated with multicasting.

The information here is provided as a reference for use in troubleshooting or verifying that the required settings are applied. It is recommended that you do not directly edit the registry unless there is no other alternative. Modifications to the registry are not validated by the registry editor or by Windows before they are applied, and as a result, incorrect values can be stored. This can result in unrecoverable errors in the system. When possible, use Group Policy or other Windows tools, such as Microsoft Management Console (MMC), to accomplish tasks rather than editing the registry directly. If you must edit the registry, use extreme caution.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\

The following registry entries are located under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters\.

EnableMulticastForwarding

Registry path

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters\

Version

The EnableMulticastForwarding entry is supported by Windows 2000, Windows XP Professional, and the Windows Server 2003 family.

The EnableMulticastForwarding entry enables or disables the forwarding of IP multicast traffic.

IGMPLevel

Registry path

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters\

Version

The IGMPLevel entry is supported by Windows 2000, Windows XP Professional, and the Windows Server 2003 family.

The IGMPLevel entry specifies the level of IP multicasting support for hosts. The possible levels are no support for the host, the host can only send multicast traffic, or the host can both send and receive multicast traffic.

To find more information about IGMPLevel, see “Registry Reference” in the Tools and Settings Collection.

TrFunctionalMcastAddress

Registry path

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters\

Version

The TrFunctionalMcastAddress entry is supported by Windows 2000, Windows XP Professional, and the Windows Server 2003 family. IP multicast on Token Ring network adapters is not supported by Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 and earlier versions of Microsoft Windows.

The TrFunctionalMcastAddress entry controls whether multicast traffic on a Token Ring network is sent to the functional address 0xC0-00-00-04-00-00 or is sent as a MAC-level broadcast.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\

The following registry entry is located under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Tracing\IGMPV2\.

EnableFileTracing

Registry path

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Tracing\IGMPV2\

Version

The EnableFileTracing entry is supported by Windows 2000, Windows XP Professional, and the Windows Server 2003 family.

The EnableFileTracing entry records detailed information about IGMP routing protocol component processes in the systemroot\Tracing\IGMPv2.log file. The netsh ras tracing igmp enabled command also enables IGMP tracing.