A New Hybrid Approach to OSPF Weight Setting Problem

Abstract

Routing protocol is considered to be the backbone system (spinal cord) of any network. It helps in directing the data from the source towards the destination, using some unique best path selection algorithm. OSPF is considered to be one of the best routing protocols for intra - domain routing. It uses the shortest path algorithm in determining the best path for its routing process. The routing decision completely depends upon the weights (cost) assigned to each link by the network operator. A famous netwo rk device vendor Cisco calculates OSPF link weight as the inverse of the links bandwidth by default. It doesnt matter how one calculates the weight, unless the network capacity is used to its optimum level. It has been observed that the weight setting algorithm is not yet optimized to consider the projecte d demands. Thus, the quality of this routing protocol decision is still not reached to the peak as there is no optimal setting to re solve this issue. The paper addresses the weight setting problem and how it affects the routing decision. Furthermore, it st udies the present algorithms used to solve this issue and states their disadvantages. A new hybrid approach to currently used genetic algorithm is proposed. Demonstration of this proposed algorithm is prese nted through diagrams and flowcharts .