Editing Bellman–Ford algorithm (section)

== Applications in routing ==
A distributed variant of the Bellman–Ford algorithm is used in [[distance-vector routing protocol]]s, for example the [[Routing Information Protocol]] (RIP).<ref>{{Cite report |url=https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc2453 |title=RIP Version 2 |last=Malkin |first=Gary S. |date=November 1998 |publisher=Internet Engineering Task Force |issue=RFC 2453}}</ref> The algorithm is distributed because it involves a number of nodes (routers) within an [[autonomous system (Internet)|Autonomous system (AS)]], a collection of IP networks typically owned by an ISP.
It consists of the following steps:

# Each node calculates the distances between itself and all other nodes within the AS and stores this information as a table.
# Each node sends its table to all neighboring nodes.
# When a node receives distance tables from its neighbors, it calculates the shortest routes to all other nodes and updates its own table to reflect any changes.
The main disadvantages of the Bellman–Ford algorithm in this setting are as follows:

* It does not scale well.
* Changes in [[network topology]] are not reflected quickly since updates are spread node-by-node.
* [[Distance-vector routing protocol#Count to infinity problem|Count to infinity]] if link or node failures render a node unreachable from some set of other nodes, those nodes may spend forever gradually increasing their estimates of the distance to it, and in the meantime there may be routing loops.