Which algorithm maintains a topology map to determine routes?

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

Answer: (A)

Maintaining a topology map means keeping a complete view of all network links and nodes so routes can be calculated from the whole picture. This is the approach used by link-state routing. Each router floods information about its directly connected links to every other router in the area, building a shared link-state database. With that topology map, every router runs a shortest-path algorithm (like Dijkstra) to determine the best path to every destination and then forwards packets accordingly. This contrasts with distance-vector routing, where routers only know costs to destinations via their neighbors and update that info incrementally without a full network map. Static routing uses fixed paths and doesn’t maintain a topology map, and hybrid blends elements of both. So, the algorithm that maintains a topology map to determine routes is link-state.