Using Linearization for Global Consistency in SSR

Novel routing algorithms such as scalable source routing (SSR) and virtual ring routing (VRR) need to set up and maintain a virtual ring structure among all the nodes in the network. The iterative successor pointer rewiring protocol (ISPRP) is one way to bootstrap such a network. Like its VRR-analogon, ISPRP requires one of the nodes to flood the network to guarantee consistency. Recent results on self-stabilizing algorithms now suggest a new approach to bootstrap the virtual rings of SSR and VRR. This so-called linearization method does not require any flooding at all. Moreover, it has been shown that linearization with shortcut neighbors has on average polylogarithmic convergence time, only.