What Is Unicast, Multicast, And Broadcast?

Table of Contents

Unicast, Multicast, And Broadcast

Cast defines the streaming of packets(data) that is transmitted to the recipient from the client-side.

1. Unicast – One to One Transmission

Unicast in Computer Networking is defined, when there is one-to-one data transmission, when there is only one sender and only one receiver then Unicast Transmission is used.

For example, Your Pc IP address is 11.2.1.0 and your PC wants to connect or want’s to receive data from another computer whose IP address is 12.2.1.2, then there UNICAST Transmission is used.

Unicast works as layer-2 of Data-link-layer.

Downloading, browsing a website is also an example of a unicast method because you are downloading files or browsing data from one network(your network) to another network(the website you browse).

2. Multicast – One to Many

Multicasting transmission is when one or more senders and one or more recipients transfer data. Multicast directly copies data in a single data stream and routed them to the host’s IP address. In IP multicasting some other protocols are required like IGMP (Internet Group Management Protocol), and Multicast routing is used for its working.

It is used when there is a single sender and information is to be sent on multiple devices or a group.

3. Broadcast – One to All

Broadcasting is defined as when you transfer data from one to all techniques. You can also define it as when there is only one sender and receiver are more than one(many receivers).

Broadcast Transmission is used in television networks for video and audio distribution.
Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) is used for resolving an IP address into a physical address which is necessary for Broadcast transmission.

Broadcast Transmission is of two types:

Limited Broadcasting –
When you send data packets or information to many devices but of the same network(all the 32 bits of IP address) known as Limited Broadcast Address, a single client (sender) over the network.

Direct Broadcasting –
Direct Broadcast is communication where one network transfers data packets or information to all the devices over the other network called a Direct Broadcast Address. This translates all the Host ID part bits to the same address.