Fixed and Flooding Routing algorithms - GeeksforGeeks
Fixed and Flooding Routing algorithms
- Difficulty Level : Medium
- Last Updated : 13 Sep, 2021
In most situations, packets require multiple hops to make a journey towards the destination. Routing is one of the most complex and crucial aspects of packet-switched network design.
Desirable Properties of Routing Algorithms:-
- Correctness and Simplicity
- Robustness: Ability of the network to deliver packets via some route even in the face of failures.
- Stability: The algorithm should converge to equilibrium fast in the face of changing conditions in the network.
- Fairness and Optimality
- Efficiency: Minimum overhead.
Design Parameters of Routing Algorithms :
- Performance Criteria: Number of hops, Cost(Send packet with high bandwidth path as the cost is less), Delay(Size of Queue), Throughput time(Number of packets delivered/time).
- Decision Time: When to decide to route a packet? Per-Packet(Datagram) or Per-session(Virtual-Circuit).
- Decision Place: Who will decide about routing? Each Node(distributed), Central Node (centralized),Originated Node (source) .
- Network Information Source: None, Local, Adjacent node, Nodes along the route, All nodes.
- Network Information Update Time: Continuous, Periodic, Major Load Change, Topology Change.
Routing Strategies :
- Fixed Routing
- Flooding
- Dynamic Routing
- Random Routing
- Flow-based Routing
Fixed Routing –
- A route is selected for each source and destination pair of nodes in the network.
- The route is fixed; changes only if the topology of the network changes.
Fixed Routing: Example (1)
Figure – A simple packet switching network with six nodes (routers)
Figure – Central routing table based on least-cost path algorithm
- A Central routing matrix is created based on the least-cost path which is stored in the network control center
- The matrix shows for each source-destination of the route, the identity of the next node on the route.
- Drawback: If the network control center fails, then everything will collapse. Hence it is not reliable.
Fixed Routing: Example (2)
Figure – Routing table stored in different nodes of the network
- Routing Table is created for each node. This is called a distributed routing algorithm
- Routing table can be created using the least-min path or min-hop reach method. Two famous path algorithms
- Dijkstra Algorithm
- Bellman Ford Algorithm
Advantages –
- Simple
- Works well in reliable network with stable load in a reliable network
- Same for virtual circuit and datagram
Disadvantages –
- Lack of flexibility
- Doesn’t react to failure or network congestion
Flooding –
- Requires no network information like topology, load condition, cost of diff. paths
- Every incoming packet to a node is sent out on every outgoing like except the one it arrived on.
- For Example in the above figure
- An incoming packet to (1) is sent out to (2),(3)
- from (2) is sent to (6),(4), and from (3) it is sent to (4),(5)
- from (4) it is sent to (6),(5),(3), from (6) it is sent to (2),(4),(5), from (5) it is sent to (4),(3)
Characteristics –
- All possible routes between Source and Destination are tried. A packet will always get through if the path exists
- As all routes are tried, there will be at least one route which is the shortest
- All nodes directly or indirectly connected are visited
Limitations –
- Flooding generates a vast number of duplicate packets
- Suitable damping mechanism must be used
Hop-Count –
- A hop counter may be contained in the packet header which is decremented at each hop.
with the packet being discarded when the counter becomes zero - The sender initializes the hop counter. If no estimate is known, it is set to the full diameter of the subnet.
- Keep track of the packets which are responsible for flooding using a sequence number. Avoid sending them out a second time.
Selective Flooding: Routers do not send every incoming packet out on every line, only on those lines that go in approximately in the direction of the destination.
Advantages of Flooding :
- Highly Robust, emergency or immediate messages can be sent (eg military applications)
- Set up the route in virtual circuit
- Flooding always chooses the shortest path
- Broadcast messages to all the nodes