# Link-State Routing **A routing protocol type which generates a [[Graph#Weighted graph|weighted graph]] representation of the network and routes data using [[Shortest Path Problem#Algorithms|shortest path algorithms]].** **Link-state routing** is a type of [[routing]] protocol in which the network is represented by a [[Graph#Weighted graph|weighted graph]] and routes are the cheapest paths found using typical [[Shortest Path Problem#Algorithms|shortest path algorithms]], usually a modified *[[Dijkstra's algorithm]]*. In link-state routing protocols, every node maintains a local **link-state** or **LS** which describes its *immediate neighbours* and the *cost* of their attached links. The [[Graph#Weighted graph|weighted graph]] representing the network is created by every node *flooding the network* with their link-states until every node knows the topology of the entire network. Link-state routing can cause *routing loops* as each node independently determines the shortest path through the network and thus data can be routed alternatively by several routes as opposed to a single unified route.