multicast backbone (IP) (MBONE)

A multicastbackbone (MBONE) is a virtual network with multicast-capable IP subnets that acts as an overlay network. The subnets are interconnected via multicast routers and thus differ from a typical IP connection.

In the MBONE, communication is multicast, i.e., group-specific. The transmission is based on multicast addresses, thus only those subscribers are addressed that can be reached via the multicast routers.

The MBONE can be the transmission basis for a large number of IP applications that are used in the Internet, intranet or extranet and are based on multicast technology. These are real-time applications such as web conferencing, Voice over IP( VoIP), Internet television or Video on Demand( VoD), but also database applications or video games.