IPv4 PIM Register Message Rate Limit

When a new source begins transmitting within a Protocol Independent Multicast (PIM) network, the designated router (DR) encapsulates multicast packets into register messages and forwards them to the rendezvous point (RP). If the source is running at a high data rate with many new sources starting concurrently, pressure can be put on the CPU due to the large number of multicast packet streams being sent to the network. This situation can occur after a network or power failure. To avoid this scenario, the rate limit for the number of register messages should be set to a relatively low value. This value is based on the known number of multicast sources present.

The following values apply when configuring register message rate limiting usable in both DR and RP switches:

  • For a DR, the default rate limit is set to one message per second.
  • For an RP, the default rate limit is set to one message per second. The maximum supported rate can be set to 50 packets per second (pps) for all (S, G) pairs counted per VRF.
Note: In an RP, where both the PIM register message filter rule and the PIM register message rate limit are configured, filtering functionality takes precedence over rate limiting.

When PIM register message rate limit is not configured, a RUCKUS ICX network stack allows a maximum of 1000 register messages for software forwarding. When PIM register message rate limit is configured, the maximum number of supported register messages is 50 per device or VRF.