joining a multicast group in linux using a command line

Question

I'm trying to join/define a multicast group in linux. Is there anyway to achieve this using a command line? I know it is possible to do so programmatically. But I would like to test my idea before programming.

P.S: a route to 244.0.0.0 has already been added and eth0 supports multicast

Solution

You could use ssmping. Just specify a regular unicast address and it will try to join the fixed multicast address 232.43.211.234 by sending periodic membership reports.. Not that you have to keep this application running or your multicast membership will time out.