You are implementing a one-to-many multicast solution for a large service provider network. Which technology offers optimal routing of multicast traffic?

Question

Options

• APIM sparse mode
• BPIM SSM
• CAnycast RP
• DMSDP
• EBidirectional PIM.

• A
  8% (2)
• B
  75% (18)
• D
  4% (1)
• E
  13% (3)

Explanation

PIM SSM (Source-Specific Multicast) is optimal for one-to-many multicast because it builds shortest-path trees directly from the source to receivers using (S,G) state, eliminating the need for a Rendezvous Point (RP) entirely - this removes a central bottleneck and simplifies routing at scale, which is exactly what a large service provider needs for content distribution like video streaming.

Why the others are wrong:

• A. PIM Sparse Mode - relies on shared trees through an RP, creating a potential bottleneck and suboptimal paths; SSM is its evolution
• C. Anycast RP - a redundancy mechanism for PIM Sparse Mode RPs, not a routing strategy; it doesn't eliminate RP dependency
• D. MSDP - connects PIM-SM domains across AS boundaries to share source information between RPs; it's an inter-domain glue protocol, not a routing optimization
• E. Bidirectional PIM - designed for many-to-many traffic (e.g., video conferencing with multiple senders); overkill and inefficient for a single-source scenario

Memory tip: The "S" in SSM stands for Source-Specific - when the exam says one source to many receivers, lock onto SSM. Any answer involving an RP (Sparse Mode, Anycast RP, MSDP) adds unnecessary complexity that SSM was designed to eliminate.

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