[JuliaTolmacha]

Hour 3 will focus primarily on routing algorithms. The routing algorithm is a formula that is stored in the router's memory. The routing algorithm your protocol uses is a major factor in the performance of your routing environment. The purpose of the routing algorithm is to make decisions for the router concerning the best paths for data.

Think of the routing algorithm as the traffic officer of the router. In the same way that traffic officers guide and shape the way cars drive through busy intersections, routing algorithms make decisions concerning the path data will take from one network to another.

The router uses the routing algorithm to compute the path that would best serve to transport the data from the source to the destination. However, you cannot directly choose the algorithm that your router uses. Rather, the routing protocol you choose for your network determines which algorithm you will use. For example, whereas the routing protocol RIP may use one type of routing algorithm to help the router move data, the routing protocol OSPF uses another.

You are learning about routing algorithms in this lesson as a prerequisite to future lessons on routing protocols. Knowing how routing algorithms work will give you a better understanding of routing protocols and the concepts behind why some protocols work better in certain situations. Many of the differences between particular routing protocols are directly related to differences in their routing algorithms.



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