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Internet Group Management Protocol
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<p>The Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) is a <a href="/facts/Communications_protocol/5uady7cB">communications protocol</a> used by <a href="/facts/Host_(network)/HPNcFXHk">hosts</a> and adjacent <a href="/facts/Router_(computing)/Nh5cIyVf">routers</a> on <a href="/facts/IPv4_network/bnQ5MEqm">IPv4 networks</a> to establish multicast group memberships. IGMP is an integral part of <a href="/facts/IP_multicast/YklMRaV5">IP multicast</a> and allows the network to direct multicast transmissions only to hosts that have requested them. </p><p>IGMP can be used for one-to-many networking applications such as online <a href="/facts/Streaming_video/4rPhSq0Y">streaming video</a> and <a href="/facts/Online_game/UH6ItLnW">gaming</a>, and allows more efficient use of resources when supporting these types of applications. </p><p>IGMP is used on <a href="/facts/IPv4/bnQ5MEqm">IPv4</a> networks. Multicast management on <a href="/facts/IPv6/d4dg7kIL">IPv6</a> networks is handled by <a href="/facts/Multicast_Listener_Discovery/QkUhWfn4">Multicast Listener Discovery</a> (MLD) which is a part of <a href="/facts/ICMPv6/da3RlVb8">ICMPv6</a> in contrast to IGMP's bare IP encapsulation. </p>