Basic Routing Algorithms

The routing algorithms can be categorized on the basis of different criteria: location of routing decision, implementation of routing algorithm, adaptivity, minimality, and progressiveness of routing. The routing strategy is generally based on parameters such as knowledge of the network topology, type and status of the intermediate links in the network, congestion, time delays being faced in the network, and the data load. The routing strategy governs the frequency of updates received by the node to decide on the routing path. The routing table entries are made manually in static routing. In static routing, the routers do not communicate with each other for exchange of network status, thus making them ‘blind’ about the changes in the network. Dynamic routing consists of two components: the routing protocol and the routing algorithm. Dynamic routing is more robust than static routing.