Please Whitelist This Site?

I know everyone hates ads. But please understand that I am providing premium content for free that takes hundreds of hours of time to research and write. I don't want to go to a pay-only model like some sites, but when more and more people block ads, I end up working for free. And I have a family to support, just like you. :)

If you like The TCP/IP Guide, please consider the download version. It's priced very economically and you can read all of it in a convenient format without ads.

If you want to use this site for free, I'd be grateful if you could add the site to the whitelist for Adblock. To do so, just open the Adblock menu and select "Disable on tcpipguide.com". Or go to the Tools menu and select "Adblock Plus Preferences...". Then click "Add Filter..." at the bottom, and add this string: "@@||tcpipguide.com^$document". Then just click OK.

Thanks for your understanding!

Sincerely, Charles Kozierok
Author and Publisher, The TCP/IP Guide


NOTE: Using software to mass-download the site degrades the server and is prohibited.
If you want to read The TCP/IP Guide offline, please consider licensing it. Thank you.

The Book is Here... and Now On Sale!

Get The TCP/IP Guide for your own computer.
The TCP/IP Guide

Custom Search







Table Of Contents  The TCP/IP Guide
 9  TCP/IP Lower-Layer (Interface, Internet and Transport) Protocols (OSI Layers 2, 3 and 4)
      9  TCP/IP Internet Layer (OSI Network Layer) Protocols
           9  TCP/IP Routing Protocols (Gateway Protocols)
                9  TCP/IP Interior Routing Protocols (RIP, OSPF, GGP, HELLO, IGRP, EIGRP)
                     9  Open Shortest Path First (OSPF)

Previous Topic/Section
OSPF Hierarchical Topology, Areas and Router Roles
Previous Page
Pages in Current Topic/Section
1
234
Next Page
OSPF General Operation and Message Types
Next Topic/Section

OSPF Route Determination Using SPF Trees
(Page 1 of 4)

The key data structure maintained by each router in an OSPF autonomous system (AS) is the link-state database (LSDB). The LSDB contains a representation of the topology of either the entire AS (in basic topology) or a single area (in hierarchical topology). As we have seen earlier in this section, each router in the AS or area has the same LSDB, so it represents a neutral view of the connections between routers and networks.

Of course, each router needs to participate in keeping the LSDB up to date, but it also has its own “selfish” concerns. It needs to be able to determine what routes it should use for datagrams it receives from its connected networks—this is, after all, the entire point of a routing protocol.

The SPF Tree

To find the best route from any router, it must determine the shortest path between itself and each router or network in the AS or area. For this, it needs not a neutral view of the internetwork but a view of it from its own perspective.

The router creates this perspective by taking the information in the LSDB and transforming it into a shortest path first tree or SPF tree. The term “tree” refers to a data structure with a root that has branches coming out that go to other nodes, which in turn have branches. The structure as a whole looks like an upside-down tree. In this case, the SPF tree shows the topology information of the AS or area with the router constructing the tree at the top. Each directly-connected router or network is one step down in the tree; each router or network connected to these first-level routers or networks is then connected, and so on, until the entire AS or area has been represented.

Again, the router doesn't really make the tree; it is just an algorithmic calculation performed by the computer within the router. Once this is done, however, this logical construct can be used to calculate the cost for that router to reach any router or network in the AS (or area). In some cases, there may be more than one way to reach a router or network, so the tree is constructed to show only the shortest (lowest-cost) path to the network.

Of course, each router is only responsible for sending a datagram on the next leg of its journey, and not for what happens to the journey as a whole. After the SPF tree is done, the router will create a routing table with an entry for each network, showing the cost to reach it, and also the next hop router to use to reach it.

The SPF tree is created dynamically based on the current state of the LSDB. If the LSDB ever changes, the SPF tree and the routing information are recalculated.

Key Concept: To determine what routes it should use to reach networks in its autonomous system, a router generates a shortest path first tree (SPF tree) from its link-state database. This tree contains the same basic information as the LSDB but presents it from the point of view of the router doing the calculation so that router can see the costs of various paths to different networks.



Previous Topic/Section
OSPF Hierarchical Topology, Areas and Router Roles
Previous Page
Pages in Current Topic/Section
1
234
Next Page
OSPF General Operation and Message Types
Next Topic/Section

If you find The TCP/IP Guide useful, please consider making a small Paypal donation to help the site, using one of the buttons below. You can also donate a custom amount using the far right button (not less than $1 please, or PayPal gets most/all of your money!) In lieu of a larger donation, you may wish to consider purchasing a download license of The TCP/IP Guide. Thanks for your support!
Donate $2
Donate $5
Donate $10
Donate $20
Donate $30
Donate: $



Home - Table Of Contents - Contact Us

The TCP/IP Guide (http://www.TCPIPGuide.com)
Version 3.0 - Version Date: September 20, 2005

© Copyright 2001-2005 Charles M. Kozierok. All Rights Reserved.
Not responsible for any loss resulting from the use of this site.