Multicast address allocation is an essential part of using IP multicast. Multicast addresses are an even more limited resource than unicast addresses, and must be allocated dynamically if they are to satisfy expected demand. To this end, the MALLOC WG will define three protocols which work together to form a global dynamic multicast address allocation mechanism. These protocols will be: - a local protocol to obtain one or more multicast addresses from a local address allocation server. MDHCP is a likely candidate for such a protocol. - a "domain" wide Address Allocation Protocol (AAP) to obtain that local servers can use to claim a multicast address for a period of time. This protocol is likely to be similar to the MMUSIC WG's Session Announcement Protocol. - an inter-domain Multicast Address Set Claim (MASC) protocol to provide aggregatable multicast address sets (similar to a prefix for unicast addresses) that AAP can then allocate individual multicast addresses out of. MASC is intended to work with the IDMR WG's Border Gateway Multicast Protocol to provide a scalable inter-domain multicast routing solution. An important part of these protocols is that they do not guarantee that a unique multicast address is allocated. Rather they provide a good statistical likelihood that the address is unique within the scope it is allocated for.