Flooding algorithm: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 10:57, 30 March 2003

Revision as of 10:58, 30 March 2003

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A '''flooding algorithm''' is an [[algorithm]] for distributing material to every part of a connected system[[network]]. The name derives from the concept of inundation by a [[flood]].

Flooding algorithms are used in systems such as [[Usenet]] and [[peer-to-peer]] [[file sharing system]]s and as part of some [[routing algorithm]]s, including [[OSPF]], [[DVMRP]], and those used in [[ad-hoc wireless network]]s.

There are several variants of flooding algorithm: most workswork roughly as follows.
#Each node acts as both a transmitter and a receiver.
#Each node tries to forward every message to every one of its neighbors.
This results in every message eventually being delivered to all reachable parts of the network.

Real-world flooding algorithms have to be substantially more complex than this, since precautions have to be taken to avoid wasted duplicate deliveries and infinite loops, and to allow messages to eventually expire from the system.

Flooding algorithms are also useful for solving many mathematical problems, including [[maze]] problems and many problems in [[graph theory]].