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MSTechie-7364 avatar image
4 Votes"
MSTechie-7364 asked GregoryLeake-0142 commented

Multicast option in Azure

Hi,,
Do we have the option to support Multicast in Azure ?

Which protocol supports Multicast.. Is it UDP or TCP ?

azure-virtual-network
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Multicast on Azure is supported now, via tightly-integrated partner solution, designed on Azure, for Azure, with MS customer feedback. Can test for free, via free trial, see: swXtch.io on Azure Marketplace. Runs entirely on existing Azure infrastructure (only compute, networking required, meaning any region): supports on-prem to Azure, cross vNET, cross region, cross subscription.





1 Vote 1 ·

It is supported now: via swXtch.io, search Azure Marketplace. It is IGMP compliant (UDP based); meaning no code changes for producers/consumers in a multicast group. And, it will shortly do fan out via TCP, also QUIC, SRT etc. But please search swXtch or "multicast" within Azure Marketplace. Runs on all existing Azure Infra (just compute/networking required); so any region on Azure. And, can do on-prem to Azure, cross vNET, cross Region, cross-subscription. fyi..


-Gregory Leake, Azure Engineering

1 Vote 1 ·

Please see on the below comments, Microsoft Employee also confirmed multicast is not supported on azure.
To follow-up, Please let us know if you have further query on this.
Please don’t forget to Accept the answer

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Hello @MSTechie-7364 ,

Just checking in to see if the below answer helped. If this answers your query, please don’t forget to click "Accept the answer" and Up-Vote for the same, which might be beneficial to other community members reading this thread. And, if you have any further query do let us know.

Thanks,
Gita

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learn2skills avatar image
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learn2skills answered MSTechie-7364 edited

Hi @MSTechie-7364
Do VNets support multicast or broadcast?
No. Multicast and broadcast are not supported.

If the Answer is helpful, please click Accept Answer and up-vote, this can be beneficial to other community members.


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I had already seen this link before https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/virtual-networks-faq#do-vnets-support-multicast-or-broadcast

But i read somewhere that multicast on UDP is supported in Azure ? is it correct ? not able to find link again on this.

Can Microsoft Azure please comment on this .

In case Multicast is not supported in Azure , what are the Alternatives for the same Please help

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GitaraniSharmaMSFT-4262 avatar image
1 Vote"
GitaraniSharmaMSFT-4262 answered

Hello @MSTechie-7364 ,

Multicast is not supported on Azure. It is going to be blocked by the fabric, which will not route multicast group IP addresses, nor subscribe to different multicast flows. There are numerous scalability challenges to support multicast in the network infrastructure. Given the security implications, we are not likely to support multicast in the near future.
Please refer : https://feedback.azure.com/forums/217313-networking/suggestions/3741233-support-multicast-within-virtual-networks#{toggle_previous_statuses}

As far as workaround is concerned, there are few options in the market such as weave or n2n which provide an overlay based solution.
For example : https://blog.pythian.com/network-multicast-support-azure/


However, we have not tested any of the solutions nor do we specifically recommend one.

Kindly let us know if the above helps or you need further assistance on this issue.


Please "Accept the answer" if the information helped you. This will help us and others in the community as well.


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dneimke avatar image
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dneimke answered

Take a look at SignalR. It provides support for multicast functionality over a Web socket connection. Clients send messages to a hub which are then broadcasted to all clients connected to the hub.

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GitaraniSharmaMSFT-4262 avatar image
7 Votes"
GitaraniSharmaMSFT-4262 answered

<<<<<UPDATE>>>>>>

Hello @MSTechie-7364 ,

Just wanted to provide a new update on this post as we now have an Azure Marketplace managed application that implements a Cloud Based Virtual Switch which enables Multicast on Azure.
Please find the link to the application below:
https://azuremarketplace.microsoft.com/en-us/marketplace/apps/swxtchiollc1614108926893.sdmc-1_1?tab=Overview

Regards,
Gita

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