Difference between ICMP and IGMP


Both ICMP and IGMP are the network protocols of the OSI (Open System Interconnection) model. ICMP will track the messages and finds whether the data receives the destination of the network and IGMP will manage the users of the network. ICMP only diagnoses the network but does not involve in managing it. When a person working on the computer searches for some data on the Internet without an internet connection it gets an error message like the destination is unreachable and these types of error messages are sent using ICMP protocol.

What is ICMP?

ICMP comes under the network layer of the model. If an error occurs in the network, it notes the errors and reports the malfunctions. There are two types of messages involved in ICMP,

  • Error Message − It is a type of message mentioned when getting an error during communication between the hosts. Some of the error messages are the destination is unreachable from the source, Time exceeded beyond expected, redirection of routes, and requesting the sender to send low−rate data.

  • Query Message − It is a type of message to get any information about the hosts involved. Some of the query messages are determining the total time taken from sending and receiving data and checking connection availability.

Functions of ICMP

Issue reporting : The packets are meant to highlight network issue situations. For instance, some of the actions performed by them are resending the data to a different location or generating the report like "Destination Unreachable" message.

Network Reachability : It can be make sure of using ICMP packets. Network connectivity is frequently checked with the "ping" command and there are two possibilities when an echo reply is received it indicates that the network is without errors and if it is not received it indicates some error.

Network Congestion : Network congestion can be detected via ICMP packets. In a crowded network, for instance, a host may receive an ICMP "Source Quench" message to reduce its transmission rate.

Network Redirection: Traffic can be redirected to a more advantageous path via ICMP packets. For instance, a host can be informed if a better next router for a specific destination is available by sending it an ICMP "Redirect" message.

What is IGMP?

IGMP involves the functions of allowing the devices inside and letting them outside a group. The type of group involves is multicast in which all the devices use the same IP address. IGMP manages all the members of the group and sent the data based on the appropriate request.

A device will send its local router an IGMP "join group" message when it wants to join a multicast group. When these messages arrive, the router adjusts the multicast group membership. The router copies packet it receives that are sent to a multicast group's common IP address and distribute copies of those duplicated packets to each member of the multicast group.

Similar to this, when a device wishes to leave a multicast group, it notifies its local router through an IGMP "leave group" message. The multicast group membership is then updated, and the router stops transmitting packets to that device.

When supporting one−to−many networking applications like online streaming video and gaming, IGMP is crucial in controlling multicast group membership and guaranteeing effective use of network resources.

Difference between ICMP and IGMP

Basic Parameter

ICMP

IGMP

Abbreviation

ICMP is abbreviated as Internet Control Message Protocol.

IGMP is abbreviated as Internet Group Management Protocol.

Network Type

It follows a unicast network, in which communication is established between one sender and receiver.

It follows a multicast network, in which the communication is established from one sender to many receivers.

Mechanism

It monitors and maintains whether the messages are sent successfully or not.

It sends data from the sender to many receivers simultaneously.

Control Communication

It controls one−to−one communication and reports if any error occurs.

It controls one−to−many communications.

Operation

It operates between one host to host or one router to router.

It operates between one host to many routers and between one router to many hosts.

Testing Reachability

It tests whether a specific node reaches the host.

It manages whether all the nodes of the group receive same the data at the same time.

Sending Request

It sends the ICMP echo request message to the destination host.

It sends the IGMP membership report message to the local router.

Feature used

It uses the PING feature.

It uses a multicast feature.

Conclusion

ICMP is a major network protocol used for generating approximate messages according to the functions of the network. It can only generate error messages rather than correcting those errors. In IGMP, there are three different versions of them are used for sending packets from one−to−many hosts in routers.

Updated on: 07-Jul-2023

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