Final-State-Based Multicast Programming

This section describes final-state-based multicast programming using IOCTLs instead of socket options. For an overview of how final-state-based multicast programming differs from change-based multicast programming, see Multicast Programming.

The following table describes the Windows Sockets IOCTLs used for multicast programming on Windows.

IOCTL Argument type
SIOCSMSFILTER GROUP_FILTER structure
SIOCGMSFILTER GROUP_FILTER structure
SIO_GET_MULTICAST_FILTER ip_msfilter structure
SIO_SET_MULTICAST_FILTER ip_msfilter structure

 

Note that the SIOCSMSFILTER and SIOCGMSFILTER IOCTLS are available on Windows Vista and later.

Using these IOCTLs for multicast programming has performance benefits when working with large source lists. For more information about the parameters and settings associated with using SIO_GET_MULTICAST_FILTER or SIO_SET_MULTICAST_FILTER, consult the GROUP_FILTER reference page. For more information about the parameters and settings associated with using SIO_GET_MULTICAST_FILTER or SIO_SET_MULTICAST_FILTER, consult the ip_msfilter reference page.