So exactly how does a link-state routing protocol work? With link-state routing protocols, a link is an interface on a router. Information about the state of those links is known as link-states.
Examine the topology in the figure. All routers in the topology will complete the following generic link-state routing process to reach a state of convergence:
1. Each router learns about its own links and its own directly connected networks. This is done by detecting that an interface is in the up state.
2. Each router is responsible for meeting its neighbors on directly connected networks. Link state routers do this by exchanging Hello packets with other link-state routers on directly connected networks.
3. Each router builds a Link-State Packet (LSP) containing the state of each directly connected link. This is done by recording all the pertinent information about each neighbor, including neighbor ID, link type, and bandwidth.
4. Each router floods the LSP to all neighbors. Those neighbors store all LSPs received in a database. They then flood the LSPs to their neighbors until all routers in the area have received the LSPs. Each router stores a copy of each LSP received from its neighbors in a local database.
5. Each router uses the database to construct a complete map of the topology and computes the best path to each destination network. Like having a road map, the router now has a complete map of all destinations in the topology and the routes to reach them. The SPF algorithm is used to construct the map of the topology and to determine the best path to each network.
Note: This process is the same for both OSPF for IPv4 and OSPF for IPv6. The examples in this section refer to OSPF for IPv4.