Network Scalability Analysis of Distance-Vector and Link-State Routing Algorithms: A Comparative Study

Interior gateway routing protocols play a crucial role in ensuring the smooth functioning of most forms of networks that exist today including the internet, and among them, Distance-Vector-Routing-Protocol (DVRP) and Link-State-Routing-Protocol (LSRP) are extensively used. This study aims to compare the scalability performance of these two protocols. It employed the Network Simulator 2 (NS2) to evaluate the two protocols on parameters such as throughput, average packet delay, and packet loss which play a major role in determining network scalability. It was simulated on networks of varying sizes and traffic loads to determine how effectively each protocol scales with the growth of network size and traffic. Also, the link failures have been simulated to ensure that the findings of this study remain relevant in real-world scenarios. In this study, it was observed that LSRP performs better than DVRP in terms of throughput and average packet delay as network size and traffic are increased. This analysis offers valuable insights into the scalability of the two given protocols, aiding in the selection of the appropriate protocol based on specific network conditions to enhance overall network performance. It concludes that LSRP outperforms DVRP as a network scales up.