Difference Between Adaptive and Non Adaptive Routing Algorithms

The key difference between adaptive and non adaptive routing algorithms is that adaptive routing algorithms take routing decisions based on the network topology and traffic while non adaptive routing algorithms take routing decisions by consulting static tables.

There are many nodes in a computer network. Routing is the process of forwarding a packet from source node to the destination and it is important to find the best path to send the packets. It can be found using a routing algorithm. There are two types of routing algorithms known as adaptive and non adaptive routing algorithms.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What are Adaptive Routing Algorithms
3. What are Non Adaptive Routing Algorithms
4. Side by Side Comparison – Adaptive vs Non Adaptive Routing Algorithms in Tabular Form
5. Summary

What are Adaptive Routing Algorithms?

The dynamic routing or adaptive routing uses adaptive algorithms. These algorithms change the routing decisions based on the topology and the network traffic. The adjacent routers or all routers provide routing information. The main optimization parameters are some hops, distance, and estimated transit time.

There are three types of adaptive routing algorithms known as centralized, isolated and distributed. In the centralized algorithm, the central node gets all information about the networking topology, traffic and about other nodes. Only one node contains all the routing information. If the central node fails, the entire network fails. In isolation algorithm, the node gets routing information using local information. It does not require information from other nodes. In the distributed algorithm, the node receives information from the near nodes and finally decides the path to send the packet.

Generally, the adaptive routing algorithms help to prevent packet delivery failures. It also minimises network congestion and increases the network performance. More bandwidth is necessary when using these algorithms because the network state information exchanges among the nodes. More information exchange can result in better routing, but it can increase the overhead.

What are Non Adaptive Routing Algorithms?

The static routing uses non adaptive routing algorithms. When booting up the network, the routing information downloads to the routers. These algorithms do not take routing decisions based on the network topology or traffic.

Furthermore, flooding and random walks are two classifications of non adaptive algotithms. . In flooding, every incoming packet is sent on all outgoing lines except the line from which it has arrived. One issue is that a node might receive several copies of a particular packet. In random walks, a packet is sent by the node to one of its neighbours randomly. It is an efficient algorithm because it makes excellent use of the alternative routes.

The non adaptive routing algorithms are simple. Hence, they work well for reliable networks with stable loads. However, they can lead to poor performance if the traffic volume or topologies change over time.

What is the Difference Between Adaptive and Non Adaptive Routing Algorithms?

Summary – Adaptive vs Non Adaptive Routing Algorithms

There are various algorithms to find the best path for routing. The difference between adaptive and non adaptive routing algorithms is that adaptive routing algorithms take routing decisions based on the network topology and traffic while non adaptive routing algorithms take routing decisions by consulting static tables.

Reference:

1.“Computer Networks (CS425).” CS425: Computer Networks: Lecture 11. Available here 

Image Courtesy:

1.’Fish routing scheme’By George Shuklin – Own work, (CC BY-SA 1.0) via Commons Wikimedia