A unifying Framework for Distributed Routing Algorithms

Distributed routing algorithms presented in the literature have tended to be specific to a particular network topology. In order to test the applicability of various routing strategies to arbitrary topologies, this paper presents a classification framework for distributed routing algorithms. Using this framework, ideas previously presented in a topologyspecific context may be applied to new networks. More importantly, however, the classification of distributed routing strategies suggests new areas for investigation: generalizing existing techniques, and examining interactions between techniques. We present some results of such work: improved routing algorithms for hypercubes, torus networks, and star graphs.