Characteristics of OSPF

Here are the main characteristics of the OPSF protocol:
 ✦ Route updates are only sent when routes change. Each router sends a
link-state advertisement (LSA)  whenever a change occurs in one of the
routes known to the router.
 ✦ LSAs contain information about the route that changed only.
 ✦ Routers exchange “Hello” messages during the convergence process to
build their neighbor tables.
 ✦ OSPF, like RIP, is supported on non-Cisco routers.
 ✦ OSPF supports variable-length subnet masking (VLSM).
 ✦ OSPF supports an unlimited number of network hops.
 ✦ OSPF scales out very well because
  •  It divides the routing domain (autonomous system) into areas.
  •  It classifies routers hierarchically.

•  It converges very quickly.
  •  It sends routes updates (LSAs) only when routes change, minimizing
route change traffic.
  •  LSA packets have a small footprint.
  •  LSA traffic is consolidated to the designated router.
  •  LSA traffic is minimized when routes are summarized.