Static vs Dynamic Routing

Routing is the process of selecting the most proper route for the transformation of a packet from its source to destination.Here the packet means the message that we want to send over the network following a proper path and that path is decided by a process called Routing.Now when we talk about Routing we come across two key terms Static Routing and Dynamic Routing, So In this article of mine, I am going to talk about them and what are the differences between them.

Static Routing:

When we talk about the Static Routing of a packet, here the role of Network Administrator is very important cause he is the person who is responsible for defining the path of the packet from its source to its destination. On each computer or router, a routing table exists that contains number of routing entries, In static routing, the network administrator manually enters the routing entry into this routing table of the computer and router, a routing entry is an entry that specifies and tells what gateways should the packet gets forwarded to reach its destination.Now Static Routing is well and good for simple networks but if the network is tedious or large then static routing won't be effective , cause if there any kind of change occurs for example if the router is down or a new router has been added then all the changes has to be done by the administrator manually which is very time consuming, and in order to overcome this problem Dynamic Routing is used.

Dynamic Routing:

Dynamic Routing is completely different from Static Routing, In Dynamic Routing, routing entries are auto-generated by the use of routing algorithms, therefore the Network Administrator does not have to perform any manual editing on the routing table.These Routing algorithms are very complex mathematical algorithms where all the routes are available and after performing some calculation the best available route is selected here the routers advertise the available links.There are different methods exists for this advertising and calculating process, two common methods are Link State Algorithm and Distance Vector Algorithm.

OSPF ( Open Shortest Path First) is an algorithm that follows a link state algorithm and RIP (Routing Information Protocol) is an algorithm that uses distance vector algorithm. For modern large networks that involve a lot of changes during operation, dynamic routing is ideal. In dynamic routing, the routing table is kept on updating automatically after a particular period to keep track on if some changes occur. Another advantage of dynamic routing is that if a packet is getting transferred to a path which is highly congested, so in future, this path will be automatically avoided by the routing protocol and would not place this path automatically in the routing table.

Differences between Static and Dynamic Routing:

• In Static Routing Network Administrator is responsible for generating routing entries, but in Dynamic Routing, the routing entries are automatically generated by using complex algorithms.


• In Static Routing, routers do not advertise or expose any information regarding the links, but in Dynamic Routing, routers do advertise information about the links and tables are generated by using this information.


• Static Routing is cheaper in comparison to Dynamic Routing because in Static Routing there is not much processing as the only thing is to do a lookup into the routing table, but in the case of Dynamic Routing, Complex algorithms require time to do all the processing for calculation that makes the cost of routing hardware higher.


• In Dynamic Routing, the routing tables are periodically updated but in Static Routing, all the changes have to be done manually by Network Administrator.


• In Static Routing, if there is a link failure communication would get affected until the link is up again or the network administrator sets up an alternate path, but in Dynamic Routing, if a link failure occurs then the routing table would be automatically updated with an alternate path.

Note: route command can be used from the command prompt to have a look at the routing table, just type route print in command prompt on windows based system and a routing table will be presented in front of you.There are various options like ADD, DELETE that can be used with the route command. In order to see all the options just type route in the Command prompt. 

That's it in this article of mine, I hope now you guys must be having a clear vision about the routing process and how packets are get transferred over the network.

Source of Information:http://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-static-and-vs-dynamic-routing/