Radio Shortest Path First

Radio Shortest Path First (RSPF) is a routing protocol designed for wireless networks. It has been implemented specifically for Linux and adheres to the version 2.2 of the RSPF protocol specification. The complexity of modern networks has increased significantly and one major reason for this is the fact that just because one station can hear another, it doesn't necessarily mean that they can hear it in return. As a result, networks can have a lot of unidirectional routes.

RSPF version 2.2 was developed by Fred Goldstein K1IO to address these issues. Previously, the NOS program version of RSPF, written by Phil Karn and others, was the primary implementation being used. However, these standard protocols did not work well over amateur packet radio. Fred Goldstein K1IO updated and improved RSPF based on his experience with the protocol in real-life scenarios.

It was during this time that the reviewer, while completing their undergraduate degree at the University of Technology, Sydney, became interested in the RSPF protocol. They were inspired by an email from Carl Makin VK1KCM asking if anyone was going to fix RSPF in NOS program. This gave them the idea for their thesis.

The latest release of RSPF comes with several new features and bug fixes. These include the control port speaking IPv6, a prettier ChangeLog, fixed checksum code, and implementation of syslog(). Overall, RSPF is a solid routing protocol that is well-suited for wireless networks.