Routing And Switching Questions Medium
The role of a routing metric in routing decisions is to determine the best path or route for data packets to travel from the source to the destination in a network. A routing metric is a value or set of values assigned to each possible route, and it is used by routing protocols to calculate and compare the desirability or efficiency of different routes.
Routing metrics can be based on various factors such as bandwidth, delay, reliability, cost, or hop count. These metrics help routers make informed decisions about which route to choose based on the network conditions and requirements.
When a router receives multiple routes to the same destination, it compares the routing metrics associated with each route and selects the one with the lowest metric value. This ensures that the chosen route is the most optimal or efficient in terms of the specified metric.
For example, if the routing metric is based on bandwidth, the router will prefer routes with higher available bandwidth. If the metric is based on delay, the router will choose routes with lower latency. By considering different metrics, routers can adapt to changing network conditions and select the most suitable path for data transmission.
In summary, the role of a routing metric in routing decisions is to evaluate and compare different routes based on specific criteria, enabling routers to make intelligent decisions about the best path for data packets to reach their destination.