p





 
   
   


  

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ƥ Seeks to design routes through the network for
individual pairs of communicating ends such
that the network is used efficiently
ƥ Circuit-switch routing is traditionally static, with
alternate paths to respond to peak load. Newer
strategies are more flexible and adaptive
ƥ Packet-switch routing attempts to find the least-
cost route through the network, with cost
based on number of hops, expected delays, or
other metrics

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ƥ Many connections need paths through more
than one switch
ƥ Primary requirements of a routing strategy
ƜEfficiency (work with minimal equipment)
ƜResilience (able to cope with heavy, unusual loads)
ƥ Public telephone switches are a tree structure
ƜEfficient, but not very resilient
ƥ Dynamic routing allows for changes in routing
depending on traffic (more resilient)

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ƥ Possible routes between end offices predefined
ƥ Originating switch selects the appropriate route
(usually for that point in time)
ƥ Routes listed in preference order
ƥ Different sets of routes may be used at different
times (refer to next slide)
ƥ Fixed alternate routing ƛ only one routing
scheme

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ƥ Complex, crucial aspect of packet switched
networks
ƥ Characteristics required
ƜCorrectness
ƜSimplicity
ƜRobustness
ƜStability
ƜFairness
ƜOptimality
ƜEfficiency

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ƜTradeoffs may exist.
ƜFairness vs. optimality. If fair, all get equal time. If
optimal, packets transfer between nearby stations
may be given priority
ƜAll routing requires some processing overhead, which
impedes efficiency

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ƥ Used for selection of route
ƜNumber of hops
ƜCost
ƜDelay
ƜThroughput

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ƥ Decision time ƛ is it on a packet (datagram) or
virtual circuit basis? (If datagram, routing is
individualized for each packet)
ƥ Decision Place ƛ which node, or nodes, are
responsible for the routing decision?
ƜMost common is distributed routing ƛ each node
responsible for selecting output link for routing
packets as they arrive
ƜCentralized ƛ usually slower, less robust
ƜSource routing ƛ decision made by source node

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ƥ Distributed ƛ usually obtains routing info from
adjacent nodes
ƥ Centralized ƛ obtains routing info from all nodes
ƥ Update timing depends on the strategy. The
more frequent the update, the better the
routing decision, BUT could impair the network

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ƥ Fixed
ƥ Flooding
ƥ Random
ƥ Adaptive

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ƥ Single permanent route is configured for each
source to destination pair
ƥ Routes usually determined using a least cost
algorithm
ƥ Route fixed, at least until a change in network
topology
ƥ No difference in routing of datagrams and
virtual circuits, because route is fixed

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ƥ No network info required
ƥ Packet sent by node to all its adjacent nodes
ƥ Incoming packets retransmitted on every link except
incoming link
ƥ Eventually a number of copies will arrive at destination
ƥ Each packet is uniquely numbered so duplicates can be
discarded
ƥ Nodes can remember packets already forwarded to keep
network load in bounds
ƥ Can include a hop count in packets
ƥ Very heavy load on traffic, but good in getting out
emergency messages

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ƥ All possible routes are tried
ƜVery robust
ƥ At least one packet will have taken minimum
hop count route
ƜCan be used to set up virtual circuit
ƥ All nodes are visited
ƜUseful to distribute information (e.g. routing)

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ƥ Simple and robust, like flooding, but with less load on
network
ƥ Intermediate node selects one outgoing path (anything
but node from which packet delivered) for
retransmission of incoming packet
ƥ Selection can be random or round robin
ƥ Can select outgoing path based on probability
calculation
ƥ No network info needed
ƥ Route is typically not least cost nor minimum hop
ƥ Not as much network traffic, but may take a while to
reach final destination

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ƥ Used by almost all packet switching networks
ƥ Routing decisions change as conditions on the network
change
Ɯ Failure
Ɯ Congestion
ƥ Requires info about network
ƥ Decisions more complex
ƥ Tradeoff between quality of network info and overhead
ƥ Reacting too quickly can cause oscillation
ƥ Too slowly to be relevant

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ƥ Improved performance
ƥ Aid congestion control

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ƥ Basis for packet switching routing decisions
Ɯ Count hops, each link has value of one
Ɯ Can have link value inversely proportional to capacity
ƥ Given network of nodes connected by bi-directional links
ƥ Each link has a cost in each direction
ƥ Define cost of path between two nodes as sum of costs
of links traversed
ƥ For each pair of nodes, find a path with the least cost
ƥ Link costs in different directions may be different
Ɯ E.g. length of packet queue

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ƥ Example of Least-Cost Algorithm
ƥ Find shortest paths from given source node to
all other nodes, by developing paths in order of
increasing path length

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$ Ñ
  

   
ƥ Find shortest paths from given node subject to
constraint that paths contain at most one link
ƥ Find the shortest paths with a constraint of
paths of at most two links
ƥ And so on
ƥ If previous path is shorter, it is retained
ƥ Otherwise new path is defined

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ƥ Dependent on processing time of algorithms
ƥ Dependent on amount of information required from
other nodes
ƥ Implementation specific
ƥ Both converge under static topology and costs
ƥ Converge to same solution
ƥ If link costs change, algorithms will attempt to catch up
ƥ If link costs depend on traffic, which depends on routes
chosen, then feedback may result in instability

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ƥ Stalling Chapter 12
ƥ Routing information from Comer D.
Internetworking with TCP/IP Volume 1, Prentice
Hall, Upper Saddle River NJ.

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ƥ What is the purpose of the routing function? Describe
the basic differences between circuit-switched and
packet-switched routing
ƥ Discuss the two major requirements for a network
architectureƞs routing strategy.
ƥ Discuss the performance criteria employed for route
selection.
ƥ Distinguish between static and alternate routing in a
circuit-switching network.
ƥ Discuss the relationship between decision time and
place.
ƥ Compare and contrast the following routing strategies:
fixed, flooding, random, and adaptive.
ƥ Continued next page!

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ƥ Discuss the major characteristics of adaptive
routing.
ƥ Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of
adaptive routing.
ƥ Discuss the basic characteristics of a least-cost
routing algorithm.
ƥ How are routing algorithms evaluated?

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