<p>Routes in ad hoc networks are multihop because of the limited  propagation range of wireless nodes. Since nodes in the network move  freely and randomly, routes often get disconnected. Routing protocols  are thus responsible for maintaining and reconstructing the routes in a  timely manner as well as establishing the robust routes. Furthermore,  routing protocols are required to perform all the above tasks without  generating excessive control message overhead. Control packets must be  utilized efficiently to deliver data packets, and be generated only when  necessary. Reducing the control overhead can make the routing protocol  efficient in bandwidth and energy consumption. Multipoint  communications have emerged as one of the most researched areas in the  field of networking. As the technology and popularity of Internet grow,  applications, such as online gaming, video conferencing, that require  multicast support are become more widespread. In a typical ad hoc  environment, network hosts work in groups to carry out a given task.  Therefore, multicast plays an important role in ad hoc networks. As we  can see, providing efficient multicasting over MANET faces many  challenges, including dynamic group establishment and constant update of  delivery path due to node movement. Multicast protocols used in static  networks like Distance Vector Multicast Routing Protocol (DVMRP),  Multicast Open Shortest Path First (MOSPF), and Core Based Tree (CBT) do  not perform well in wireless ad hoc networks because multicast tree  structures are fragile and must be readjusted as connectivity changes.  Hence, the tree structures used in static networks must be modified, or a  different topology between members (i.e., mesh) need to be deployed for  efficient multicasting in wireless mobile ad hoc networks [1].  Undoubtedly, multicast communication is an efficient means of supporting  group oriented applications. This is especially true in MANETs where  nodes are energy-and bandwidth limited. In these resources constrained  environments, reliable point &ndash;to-point protocols can get prohibitively  expensive. The Convergence of multiple requests to a single node  typically causes intolerable congestion, violating the time constraints  of a critical mission, and may drain the node&rsquo;s battery, cutting short  the network&rsquo;s lifetime. Despite the fact that reliable multicasting is  vital to the success of mission critical applications in MANETs.</p>