Source-Specific Multicast for IP

IP addresses in the 232/8 (232.0.0.0 to 232.255.255.255) range are designated as source-specific multicast (SSM) destination addresses and are reserved for use by source-specific applications and protocols [IANA-ALLOCATION]. For IP version 6 (IPv6), a proposed range exists, although there is currently no IANA allocation [SSMIPv6]. This document defines the semantics of source-specific multicast addresses and specifies the policies governing their use. It defines an extension to the Internet network service that applies to datagrams sent to SSM addresses and defines the host and router requirements to support this extension. A companion document will describe how the Internet Group Management Protocol Version 3 [IGMPv3] and the Multicast Listener Discovery Protocol Version 2 [MLDv2] can be adapted to support source-specific multicast.