Bellman Ford algorithm

The Bellman-Ford algorithm is a distance vector algorithm named after its developers, which is used in Distance Vector Routing Protocols such as the Routing Information Protocol( RIP), Border Gateway Protocol( BGP), Interdomain Routing Protocol ( IDRP) or in the Internetwork Packet Exchange Protocol( IPX).

Routers using the Bellman-Ford algorithm must maintain their routing tables, which show the distance and shortest link from all network nodes. The algorithm uses distributed computation for path selection determination. In this process, each router sends its complete routing table to all other routers when a change is noticed and/or at intervals.

The number of entries in the routing table corresponds to those of all nodes in the network. The entries show the immediate neighboring nodes, as well as the distance to all network nodes or the transmission time that a data packet needs for a certain connection. The parameters for the determination are the number of hops, the latency times, etc.