Link-state Routing Protocol - Failure Modes

Failure Modes

If all the nodes are not working from exactly the same map, routing loops can form. (These are situations in which, in the simplest form, two neighboring nodes each think the other is the best path to a given destination. Any packet headed to that destination arriving at either node will loop between the two, hence the name. Routing loops involving more than two nodes are also possible.)

The reason is fairly simple: since each node computes its shortest-path tree and its routing table without interacting in any way with any other nodes, then if two nodes start with different maps, it is easy to have scenarios in which routing loops are created.

Read more about this topic:  Link-state Routing Protocol

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