OSPF Performance and Optimization of Open Source Routing Software

OSPF (Open Shortest Path First) is a widely used intra-domain routing protocol in IP networks. Processing delays in OSPF implementations impact the time needed for both intra-domain and inter-domain routing to re-convergence after a topology change. The re-convergence capability of a router can be characterized by a performance index, referred to as switching time. We have built a test-bed and we have measured the switching time in routers based on the Personal Computer (PC) hardware and open source routing software. The obtained results show that, if the open source routing software is optimized, the PC-based router performs, in terms of switching time, better than a commercial router as Cisco 2801.