OSPF employs which type of routing algorithm?

• A. Link State
• B. Distance Vector
• C. Hybrid
• D. Static

Answer: (A)

OSPF uses a link-state routing algorithm. In a link-state protocol, each router learns the entire network topology by exchanging information about its directly connected links. OSPF floods link-state advertisements so every router in an area has an identical view of the network. With that complete map, each router runs Dijkstra’s shortest path first algorithm to compute the best path to every destination, building a routing table that selects the next hop along the shortest-cost route. The cost metric, usually based on link bandwidth, guides the path choice and promotes efficient use of high-speed links. This approach yields fast convergence and loop-free routing because decisions are made from a full topology picture rather than incremental neighbor updates. By contrast, distance-vector methods rely on neighbors’ route advertisements and can converge more slowly and be more prone to certain routing issues; static routing, on the other hand, is manually configured and does not adapt automatically to changes.