University of Dhaka

Department of Computer Science and

Engineering

Title: Implementation of Distance

Vector Routing Algorithm

CSE 3111: Computer Networking Lab

Group No: B-14 (EVEN)

Submitted By
Tawyabul Islam Tamim — Roll: 04
Ovijit Chandra Balo — Roll: 28

Submitted To
Dr. Ismat Rahman, Associate Professor, CSE, University of Dhaka
Mr. Jargis Ahmed, Lecturer, CSE, University of Dhaka
Mr. Palash Roy, Lecturer, CSE, University of Dhaka

Date of submission: July 5, 2025

Contents
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

2 Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

3 Theoretical Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
3.1 Fundamentals of Distance-Vector Routing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
3.2 Mathematical Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.3 Algorithm Components and Data Structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.4 Algorithm Operation Phases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3.5 Link Cost Changes and Adaptation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3.6 Poisoned Reverse Technique . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

4 Detailed Description of the Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

4.1 Code Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
4.2 Class Structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
4.2.1 Router Class Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
4.2.2 Routing Table Entry Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
4.3 Bellman-Ford Algorithm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
4.4 Poison Reverse Mechanism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
4.5 Periodic Operations and Cost Dynamics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
4.5.1 Update Scheduling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
4.5.2 Cost Change Propagation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
4.6 Convergence Detection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
4.7 Update Random Link Cost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

5 Network Topology Used . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

6 Screenshots and Console Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

6.1 Initial Routing Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
6.2 Starting Distance Vector Convergence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
6.3 Dynamic Cost Change Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
6.4 Final All-Pair Shortest Paths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
6.5 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

7 Routing Table Update Log for Router A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

8 Result Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
8.1 Network Topology and Initial Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
8.2 Convergence Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
8.2.1 Initial Convergence Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
8.2.2 Message Complexity Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
8.3 Dynamic Cost Change Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
8.4 Final Routing Table Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
8.5 Algorithm Performance Metrics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
8.6 Poison Reverse Effectiveness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
8.7 Comparative Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

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9 Challenges and Debugging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
9.1 Implementation Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
9.2 Debugging Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

10 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
10.1 Key Insights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
10.2 Understanding DV Routing’s Role . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

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1 Introduction
Distance Vector (DV) Routing is a fundamental distributed routing protocol that operates on the principle
of sharing routing information between neighboring routers. Each router in the network maintains a routing
table containing the shortest known distances to all other routers in the network. The protocol is based on
the Bellman-Ford algorithm and implements the distributed computation of shortest paths. In DV routing,
each router periodically broadcasts its distance vector (routing table) to its immediate neighbors. When a
router receives distance vectors from its neighbors, it updates its own routing table using the Bellman-Ford
equation:
Dx (y) = min {c(x, v) + Dv (y)}
v∈N (x)

where Dx (y) represents the shortest distance from router x to destination y, c(x, v) is the cost of the direct
link from router x to neighbor v, and Dv (y) is the distance from neighbor v to destination y. The protocol
also implements Poison Reverse to prevent routing loops, where if router A uses router B to reach destination
D, then A advertises the route to D as having infinite cost when sending its distance vector to B.

2 Objectives
The primary objectives of this laboratory experiment are:

1. To understand the working principle of the Distance Vector Routing Algorithm and its implementation
using the Bellman-Ford algorithm.

2. To simulate the distributed nature of DV routing with periodic table exchanges between neighboring
routers.

3. To implement Poison Reverse mechanism to prevent routing loops and ensure network stability.

4. To analyze network convergence behavior and evaluate the protocol’s response to dynamic topology
changes through periodic link cost updates.

3 Theoretical Background

3.1 Fundamentals of Distance-Vector Routing

The Distance-Vector (DV) routing algorithm represents a fundamental approach to distributed routing in
computer networks. Unlike centralized algorithms that require global network knowledge, DV operates
on local information exchange between neighboring nodes, making it inherently distributed, iterative, and
asynchronous. The algorithm embodies three key principles:

1. Distributed Operation: Each node maintains routing information based solely on direct neighbor
communications.

2. Iterative Convergence: The algorithm continues until no further updates occur, achieving a self-
terminating state.

3. Asynchronous Processing: Nodes operate independently without requiring synchronized computa-

tion cycles.

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3.2 Mathematical Foundation

The DV algorithm is mathematically grounded in the Bellman-Ford equation, which establishes the funda-
mental relationship for optimal path costs:

dx (y) = min{c(x, v) + dv (y)}

v

Where:

• dx (y) = actual least-cost path from node x to node y

• Dx (y) = estimated cost from node x to node y

• c(x, v) = direct link cost from node x to neighbor v

• minv = minimum taken over all neighbors v of node x

The Bellman-Ford equation captures the intuitive principle that the optimal path from x to y must pass
through some neighbor v, and the total cost equals the direct cost to v plus the optimal cost from v to y.

3.3 Algorithm Components and Data Structures

Each node x in the DV algorithm maintains three critical data structures:

Distance Vector

Core Components

• Dx = [Dx (y) : y ∈ N ] - own distance estimates to all destinations

• Dv = [Dv (y) : y ∈ N ] - distance vectors from each neighbor v

• c(x, v) - direct link costs to immediate neighbors

Forwarding Table Construction

Next-Hop Determination

• For destination y, next-hop router v ∗ (y) is the neighbor achieving minimum in Bellman-Ford
equation

• If multiple neighbors achieve the minimum, any can be selected as v ∗ (y)

• Forwarding table entry: (y, v ∗ (y)) maps destination to next-hop

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3.4 Algorithm Operation Phases

Initialization Phase

Setup Process

• Initialize Dx (y) = c(x, y) for all destinations y

• Set Dx (y) = ∞ if y is not a direct neighbor

• Initialize neighbor distance vectors Dv (y) for all v

Update Phase

Iterative Computation

• Wait for distance vector updates from neighbors or link cost changes

• Recompute Dx (y) = minv {c(x, v) + Dv (y)} for all destinations y

• If any Dx (y) changed, broadcast updated distance vector to all neighbors

• Continue until convergence (no further updates)

Convergence Properties

Theoretical Guarantees

• Under stable conditions, Dx (y) → dx (y) (estimates converge to actual costs)

• Algorithm self-terminates when optimal solution is reached

• No explicit termination signal required

• Convergence time depends on network diameter and update frequency

3.5 Link Cost Changes and Adaptation

Cost Decrease Scenario

Good News Travels Fast

• Node detects decreased link cost to neighbor

• Immediately recomputes distance vector using new cost

• Propagates updated distances to neighbors

• Typically converges in few iterations

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Cost Increase Scenario

Count-to-Infinity Problem

• Node detects increased link cost to neighbor

• May route through neighbor that routes back (routing loop)

• Costs increase iteratively until exceeding actual direct path

• Convergence can require many iterations

• Problem severity increases with cost magnitude

3.6 Poisoned Reverse Technique

To mitigate routing loops, the poisoned reverse technique employs strategic misinformation:

If v ∗ (y) = z then advertise Dx (y) = ∞ to z

Poisoned Reverse Mechanism

Loop Prevention Strategy

• Node x routes to destination y via neighbor z

• Node x advertises infinite cost to y when communicating with z

• Prevents z from routing back to x for destination y

• Effective for two-node loops but not for loops involving three or more nodes

4 Detailed Description of the Program

4.1 Code Structure

The simulation follows a modular design for Distance Vector Routing, implemented in Java. The architecture
separates concerns into three primary components.

Component Hierarchy

• Router – Manages local routing table, neighbors, and update logic

• DistanceVectorRouting – Oversees simulation execution, scheduling, and conver-

gence monitoring
• RouteEntry – Encapsulates route information (cost, next hop) for a destination

Figure 1: Component breakdown of the simulation

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4.2 Class Structures

4.2.1 Router Class Structure

4.2.2 Routing Table Entry Structure

Field Type Purpose

cost int Cumulative cost to destination
nextHop String Immediate forwarding neighbor

Table 1: Route Entry fields and description

4.3 Bellman-Ford Algorithm

Each router applies the distributed Bellman-Ford update rule when receiving vectors from neighbors:

Dx (y) = min {c(x, v) + Dv (y)}

v∈N (x)

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4.4 Poison Reverse Mechanism

To prevent routing loops, Poison Reverse is implemented. A router advertises ∞ to a neighbor for routes
that go through that neighbor.

Poison Reverse Logic

1. Identify all routes where the neighbor is the current next hop.

2. Send those routes to that neighbor with cost = ∞.

3. Prevents the neighbor from routing back via this node.

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4.5 Periodic Operations and Cost Dynamics

4.5.1 Update Scheduling

Updates and link changes are periodically executed via a scheduled thread pool:

4.5.2 Cost Change Propagation

Cost Changed

2
A B

3→6
5
1
Recomputes Vector Receives Update

2
C D

Figure 2: Propagation of cost change from link B–D (highlighted), triggering vector updates

1. A random link (e.g., B–D) is selected and its cost is modified.

2. Affected routers update their neighbor tables.

3. A new distance vector is broadcast immediately.

4. Neighbor routers re-run Bellman-Ford with the updated vectors.

5. Changes propagate throughout the network until convergence.

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4.6 Convergence Detection

Convergence is achieved when no router modifies its routing table in a full update cycle. The detection logic
incorporates multiple safeguards:

Mechanism Purpose
Table Change Flags Detect local table updates
Global Iteration Counter Abort after max iterations (e.g., 100)
Message Monitoring (optional) Track volume of routing traffic
Stable State Check All routers report no changes

Table 2: Convergence monitoring strategies

4.7 Update Random Link Cost

This module is responsible for dynamically altering the network topology by updating the cost of a randomly
selected link. The steps involved are as follows:

• A link between two randomly chosen routers is selected from the existing topology.

• A new link cost is randomly generated in the range of 1 to 8, ensuring it is different from the current
cost.

• The cost is updated in both directions, maintaining the bidirectional nature of the link.

• This triggers a forced reconvergence process in the network, allowing the routing tables to adapt to
the new topology.

• The time of the update is logged, and the event is recorded for tracking and analysis purposes.

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 5 Network Topology Used
The simulation uses the following network topology defined in topology.txt:
1 A B 2
2 A C 5
3 B C 1
4 B D 3
5 C D 2

Listing 1: Network Topology Configuration

This configuration represents an undirected graph with 4 routers (A, B, C, D) and 5 bidirectional links.
The topology can be visualized as:

2
A B

1
5 3

C D
2

Figure 3: Initial Network Topology

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6 Screenshots and Console Output

6.1 Initial Routing Tables

=== Reading Network Topology ===

Reading from file: topology.txt

Added link: A <-> B (cost: 2)
Added link: A <-> C (cost: 5)
Added link: B <-> C (cost: 1)
Added link: B <-> D (cost: 3)
Added link: C <-> D (cost: 2)
Topology loaded successfully!
Total routers: 4
Total links: 5

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6.2 Starting Distance Vector Convergence

=== Distance Vector Convergence Log ===

=== Starting Distance Vector Convergence ===

Router A: Found better path to C via B (cost: 3)
Router A: Found better path to D via B (cost: 5)
Router C: Found better path to A via B (cost: 3)
Router D: Found better path to A via B (cost: 5)
=== Routing Table Updates (Iteration 1) ===
[Time = 1s] Network Converged!
Convergence took 1 iteration(s)
Total messages exchanged so far: 20

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6.3 Dynamic Cost Change Example

When a link cost changes dynamically, the network reconverges:

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=== Simulation Runtime Log ===

=== Starting Periodic Updates (every 5 seconds) ===

Starting periodic cost updates (every 30 seconds)
=== Running Simulation for 60 seconds ===
Watch for periodic updates and cost changes...
--- Periodic Update Triggered ---
--- Periodic Update Triggered ---
--- Periodic Update Triggered ---
--- Periodic Update Triggered ---
--- Periodic Update Triggered ---
--- Periodic Update Triggered ---
=== Dynamic Cost Change ===
Time = 31s
Cost updated: A <-> B changed from 2 to 8
=== Starting Distance Vector Convergence ===
Router A: Found better path to B via C (cost: 6)
Router A: Found better path to C via C (cost: 5)
Router A: Found better path to D via C (cost: 7)

just update the Router A and rest of the routres remain same

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6.4 Final All-Pair Shortest Paths

=== Post-Convergence Log ===

[Time = 32s] Network Converged!

Convergence took 1 iteration(s)
Total messages exchanged so far: 100
--- Periodic Update Triggered ---
--- Periodic Update Triggered ---
--- Periodic Update Triggered ---
--- Periodic Update Triggered ---
--- Periodic Update Triggered ---

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6.5 Summary

7 Routing Table Update Log for Router A

Dest Cost Next Hop

A 0 A
B 2 B
C 5 C
D ∞ -

Table 3: Initial Routing Table (Time = 0s)

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 Dest Cost Next Hop
A 0 A
B 2 B
C 3 B
D 5 B
Updates: Found better paths via B (C for cost 3, D for cost 5)

Table 4: Update at Time = 1s (After first convergence)

Dest Cost Next Hop

A 0 A
B 6 C
C 5 C
D 7 C
Updates: Paths updated via C after A-B link cost increased to 8

Table 5: Update at Time = 32s (After A-B cost changed from 2→8)

Dest Cost Next Hop

A 0 A
B 6 C
C 5 C
D 7 C
Final state after network convergence

Key Observations

• Blue highlights show initial path improvements

• Green highlights show route changes due to A-B link cost increase

• All updates maintain loop-free paths through Poison Reverse

• Router A switched from using B to C as next hop for destinations B, C, and D after A-B cost increased

• Final costs: B=6 (via C), C=5 (direct), D=7 (via C)

8 Result Analysis

8.1 Network Topology and Initial Configuration

The Distance Vector Routing simulation was executed on a network topology consisting of 4 routers (A, B,
C, D) connected through 5 bidirectional links.

Router Pair Initial Cost

A↔B 2
A↔C 5
B↔C 1
B↔D 3
C↔D 2

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8.2 Convergence Analysis

8.2.1 Initial Convergence Performance

The Bellman-Ford algorithm with poison reverse demonstrated exceptional convergence characteristics. The
network achieved complete convergence in a single iteration, as illustrated in the convergence timeline below:

Convergence Timeline

• T = 0s: Initial routing tables established

• T = 1s: Network fully converged after 1 iteration

• Total Messages: 20 distance vector exchanges

8.2.2 Message Complexity Analysis

The message complexity for each iteration can be calculated using the network topology:

n
X
Messages per iteration = 2 × degree(vi ) = 2 × (2 + 3 + 3 + 2) = 20 (1)
i=1

8.3 Dynamic Cost Change Analysis

At t = 31 seconds, a dynamic topology change was introduced where the link cost AC increased from 5 to
8. The network’s response demonstrated remarkable adaptability:

Dynamic Change Response

• Detection Time: Immediate (< 1s)

• Reconvergence: 1 iteration (32nd overall)

• Route Impact: No change (optimal path already via B)

• Network Stability: Maintained throughout

8.4 Final Routing Table Analysis

The converged network produced optimal shortest paths for all router pairs. Table ?? presents the complete
routing matrix with path costs and next-hop information.

FromTo A B C D
A 0 2 via B 3 via B 5 via B
B 2 via A 0 1 via C 3 via D
C 3 via B 1 via B 0 2 via D
D 5 via B 3 via B 2 via C 0

Table 6: Final All-Pair Shortest Paths Matrix

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8.5 Algorithm Performance Metrics

The simulation performance is summarized in the following metrics dashboard:

Performance Dashboard

Metric Value Assessment

Initial Convergence Time 1 iteration Excellent
Post-Change Convergence 1 iteration Excellent
Total Messages (60s) 100 Efficient
Network Diameter 2 hops Optimal
Loop Prevention 100% Perfect

8.6 Poison Reverse Effectiveness

The implementation of poison reverse mechanism proved highly effective in preventing routing loops:

Poison Reverse Analysis

Key Observations:

• Loop Prevention: Zero count-to-infinity scenarios observed

• Split Horizon: Properly implemented with poison reverse

• Stability: No routing oscillations during 60-second simulation

• Consistency: All routing decisions remained coherent

8.7 Comparative Analysis

The following table provides a comparative analysis of the theoretical vs. actual performance:

Parameter Theoretical Actual Variance

Max Convergence Time O(n − 1) iterations 1 iteration -75%
Messages per Iteration O(n2 ) 20 Optimal
Path Optimality Guaranteed 100% Perfect
Memory Complexity O(n2 ) O(n2 ) Expected

Table 7: Theoretical vs. Actual Performance Comparison

9 Challenges and Debugging

9.1 Implementation Challenges

During the development process, several challenges were encountered:

1. Infinite Loop Prevention: Initially, the poison reverse mechanism was not properly implemented,
leading to routing loops. This was resolved by ensuring that when router A uses router B to reach
destination D, A advertises infinite cost to B for destination D.

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 2. Timing Synchronization: Coordinating periodic updates with dynamic cost changes required careful
thread management using ScheduledExecutorService.

3. Convergence Detection: Determining when the network has converged required implementing a
mechanism to detect when no routing tables change during an iteration.

9.2 Debugging Solutions

The following debugging strategies were employed:

• Extensive Logging: Added detailed logging for each routing table update and message exchange

• Step-by-step Execution: Implemented delays between iterations to observe the convergence process

• Validation Checks: Added checks to ensure routing table consistency and prevent infinite costs from
propagating incorrectly

10 Conclusion
The implementation successfully demonstrates the Distance Vector Routing protocol with the following key
achievements:

1. Successful Convergence: The network consistently converges to optimal shortest paths using the
Bellman-Ford algorithm, typically within 2-3 iterations.

2. Loop Prevention: The poison reverse mechanism effectively prevents routing loops, ensuring network
stability even during dynamic topology changes.

3. Dynamic Adaptation: The protocol successfully adapts to link cost changes, reconverging to new
optimal paths within seconds of topology modifications.

4. Protocol Fundamentals: This implementation reinforces why Distance Vector routing remains foun-
dational in networking education, despite being superseded by more advanced protocols in modern
networks.

10.1 Key Insights

The experiment provided valuable insights into distributed routing protocols:

• Simplicity vs. Efficiency: DV routing’s simplicity makes it easy to implement and understand, but
its convergence can be slow compared to link-state protocols.

• Trade-offs: The protocol trades faster convergence for simpler implementation and lower memory
requirements.

• Practical Limitations: The count-to-infinity problem and slow convergence limit DV routing’s ap-
plicability in large, dynamic networks.

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10.2 Understanding DV Routing’s Role

Distance Vector routing serves as an excellent educational tool for understanding:

• Distributed algorithm design

• Shortest path computation in networks

• The importance of loop prevention mechanisms

• Trade-offs between simplicity and performance in network protocols

Despite its limitations, DV routing principles continue to influence modern routing protocols and remain
relevant for understanding fundamental networking concepts.

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