Cameron Katri's Manual Page Server

Multicast Options

IP multicasting is supported only on AF_INET sockets of type SOCK_DGRAM and SOCK_RAW, and only on networks where the interface driver supports multicasting.

The IP_MULTICAST_TTL option changes the time-to-live (TTL) for outgoing multicast datagrams in order to control the scope of the multicasts:

u_char ttl;	/* range: 0 to 255, default = 1 */
setsockopt(s, IPPROTO_IP, IP_MULTICAST_TTL, &ttl, sizeof(ttl));

Datagrams with a TTL of 1 are not forwarded beyond the local network. Multicast datagrams with a TTL of 0 will not be transmitted on any network, but may be delivered locally if the sending host belongs to the destination group and if multicast loopback has not been disabled on the sending socket (see below). Multicast datagrams with TTL greater than 1 may be forwarded to other networks if a multicast router is attached to the local network.

For hosts with multiple interfaces, each multicast transmission is sent from the primary network interface. The IP_MULTICAST_IF option overrides the default for subsequent transmissions from a given socket:

struct in_addr addr;
setsockopt(s, IPPROTO_IP, IP_MULTICAST_IF, &addr, sizeof(addr));

where "addr" is the local IP address of the desired interface or INADDR_ANY to specify the default interface. An interface's local IP address and multicast capability can be obtained via the SIOCGIFCONF and SIOCGIFFLAGS ioctls. Normal applications should not need to use this option.

If a multicast datagram is sent to a group to which the sending host itself belongs (on the outgoing interface), a copy of the datagram is, by default, looped back by the IP layer for local delivery. The IP_MULTICAST_LOOP option gives the sender explicit control over whether or not subsequent datagrams are looped back:

u_char loop;	/* 0 = disable, 1 = enable (default) */
setsockopt(s, IPPROTO_IP, IP_MULTICAST_LOOP, &loop, sizeof(loop));

This option improves performance for applications that may have no more than one instance on a single host (such as a router demon), by eliminating the overhead of receiving their own transmissions. It should generally not be used by applications for which there may be more than one instance on a single host (such as a conferencing program) or for which the sender does not belong to the destination group (such as a time querying program).

A multicast datagram sent with an initial TTL greater than 1 may be delivered to the sending host on a different interface from that on which it was sent, if the host belongs to the destination group on that other interface. The loopback control option has no effect on such delivery.

A host must become a member of a multicast group before it can receive datagrams sent to the group. To join a multicast group, use the IP_ADD_MEMBERSHIP option:

struct ip_mreq mreq;
setsockopt(s, IPPROTO_IP, IP_ADD_MEMBERSHIP, &mreq, sizeof(mreq));

where mreq is the following structure:

struct ip_mreq {
    struct in_addr imr_multiaddr; /* multicast group to join */
    struct in_addr imr_interface; /* interface to join on */
}

imr_interface should be INADDR_ANY to choose the default multicast interface, or the IP address of a particular multicast-capable interface if the host is multihomed. Membership is associated with a single interface; programs running on multihomed hosts may need to join the same group on more than one interface. Up to IP_MAX_MEMBERSHIPS (currently 20) memberships may be added on a single socket.

To drop a membership, use:

struct ip_mreq mreq;
setsockopt(s, IPPROTO_IP, IP_DROP_MEMBERSHIP, &mreq, sizeof(mreq));

where mreq contains the same values as used to add the membership. Memberships are dropped when the socket is closed or the process exits.

Raw IP Sockets

Raw IP sockets are connectionless, and are normally used with the sendto and recvfrom calls, though the connect(2) call may also be used to fix the destination for future packets (in which case the read(2) or recv(2) and write(2) or send(2) system calls may be used).

If proto is 0, the default protocol IPPROTO_RAW is used for outgoing packets, and only incoming packets destined for that protocol are received. If proto is non-zero, that protocol number will be used on outgoing packets and to filter incoming packets.

Outgoing packets automatically have an IP header prepended to them (based on the destination address and the protocol number the socket is created with), unless the IP_HDRINCL option has been set. Incoming packets are received with IP header and options intact.

IP_HDRINCL indicates the complete IP header is included with the data and may be used only with the SOCK_RAW type.

#include <netinet/ip.h>

int hincl = 1;                  /* 1 = on, 0 = off */
setsockopt(s, IPPROTO_IP, IP_HDRINCL, &hincl, sizeof(hincl));

Unlike previous BSD releases, the program must set all the fields of the IP header, including the following:

ip->ip_v = IPVERSION;
ip->ip_hl = hlen >> 2;
ip->ip_id = 0;  /* 0 means kernel set appropriate value */
ip->ip_off = offset;
ip->ip_len = len;

Note that the ip_off and ip_len fields are in host byte order.

If the header source address is set to INADDR_ANY, the kernel will choose an appropriate address.