Routing Protocol Simulator

This project implements a Routing Protocol Simulator in Python, allowing users to simulate and compare two fundamental routing algorithms:

• Link-State Routing (Dijkstra's Algorithm)
• Distance-Vector Routing (Bellman-Ford Algorithm)

The simulator randomly generates a graph topology, representing a network with nodes and weighted edges (links). Users can specify network parameters and compute the shortest path between two nodes.

Quickstart Guide

Running the Simulator

1. Copy all the contents from this repository.
2. Open a terminal and navigate to the folder containing route.py.
3. Run the program using:

   python route.py

4. You will be prompted to:
   • Choose a routing protocol: (1) Link-State (Dijkstra) or (2) Distance-Vector (Bellman-Ford).
   • Define the number of network nodes (N).
   • Set the maximum number of connections (M) for each node.

Computing a Path

• The program generates a random weighted graph based on the user input.
• Users select a source node and a destination node.
• The chosen algorithm computes and displays the shortest path and total path weight.

Core Concepts

• Link-State Routing (Dijkstra's Algorithm):
  • Computes the shortest path using a priority queue.
  • Guarantees the shortest path to all nodes.
• Distance-Vector Routing (Bellman-Ford Algorithm):
  • Uses iterative updates to estimate shortest paths.
  • Handles negative weights (but not negative cycles).

Preview of Simulation Output

Example Network Graph (Adjacency List)

Generated graph (Adjacency list with weights):
Node 0: [(1, 5), (2, 8)]
Node 1: [(0, 5), (3, 2)]
Node 2: [(0, 8), (3, 6)]
Node 3: [(1, 2), (2, 6), (4, 3)]
...

Example Path Calculation

Enter initial node (0 to 4): 0
Enter end node (0 to 4): 3

The minimum path from node 0 to node 3 is: 0 -> 1 -> 3
The total weight is: 7

Notes:

• Users can regenerate the graph or calculate new paths within the same network.
• The simulator can be extended to real-world networking applications.
• The number of nodes and connections can be adjusted to create different network topologies.

Future Enhancements

• Support for real-time network traffic updates.
• Implementation of Hybrid Routing Algorithms.
• Integration with graph visualization tools for better path representation.