Flooding

In the area of computer networks, flooding occurs when a router sends a packet from one node, and distributes it to every other node connected to the router with the exception of the node in from which it was sent. Flooding is essentially a faster way to forward updates regarding routing information to all the nodes of a network. It is often used in virtual network multicasts where packets are sent from one source node to several specific nodes. Flooding is used in various areas of network communications. An example of this is an internet process known as OSPF (Open Shortest Path First), a protocol that updates routing information in a network. While it does have a few advantages, flooding is mostly done with malicious intent. This technique is often used in the field of online business where someone intentionally distributes and packet flood to cripple a competitor’s system.