Which option allows greater control and less flooding in a Dante network?

IGMP, or Internet Group Management Protocol, provides the means to manage multicast group memberships, facilitating better control of multicast traffic in a network. In a Dante network, which employs multicast for audio streaming, IGMP helps in optimizing bandwidth usage and reducing unnecessary flooding of traffic across the network.

When IGMP is implemented, devices can efficiently communicate their interest in joining or leaving multicast groups. This means that only those devices that need to receive certain streams will actively participate in that multicast group, minimizing the amount of redundant data sent across the network. Consequently, this mechanism helps in reducing network congestion and ensures that resources are allocated only to those endpoints that are actively using them, rather than flooding the network with broadcasts that every device would need to process.

In contrast, other methods like broadcast and multicast without IGMP would result in all devices receiving the same audio streams regardless of their interest, leading to increased network traffic and inefficient use of bandwidth. Therefore, IGMP not only supports better management of multicast groups but also contributes to a more efficient and responsive Dante network environment.