Static vs Dynamic

IT 242 Static vs Dynamic Checkpoint

As a network administrator for a small company, and needing to choose whether static or dynamic routing is more beneficial. Configuring an IP address between two routers can be done manually through static routing or with software through dynamic routing. The factors used to determine the best route include not only the fastest route, but the most efficient.

Static routing is accomplished by manually entering IP routes which requires manual maintenance should a network outage occur. If this occurs the company will not have high overhead and will save without the cost of additional equipment or software. Once the routers are programmed, there is no change in the routing pattern unless it is manually reprogrammed to a new route. If the pattern runs through a congested network area and a router is not functioning properly, or part of the network is down, the router continues to try the same pattern because that is all it is programmed to remember.

Dynamic routing means that the router remembers the best or most efficient path and if that path is not working, it will try the next most efficient route. The router is able to do this by remembering the routing tables most often used in the network. A dynamic router needs very little maintenance because it automatically remembers the network destination.

If the company were part of a larger network and the need for dynamic protocols were necessary dynamic routing would then become a benefit in communicating with external networks. The benefit of dynamic routing in a small company proves inefficient with the amount of bandwidth. In our company with a small network using static routing properly maintaining and updating, should be simple to manage and would be efficient and cost effective.

References

Stallings, W. (2009). Business data communications (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.