Reference 1: http://www.ciscopress.com/articles/article.asp?p=24090&seqNum=4
Link state protocols, sometimes called shortest path first or distributed database protocols, are built around a well-known algorithm from graph theory, E. W. Dijkstra'a shortest path algorithm. Examples of link state routing protocols are: Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) for IP The ISO's Intermediate System to Intermediate System (IS-IS) for CLNS and IP DEC's DNA Phase V Novell's NetWare Link Services Protocol (NLSP) Although link state protocols are rightly considered more complex than distance vector protocols, the basic functionality is not complex at all:
1.Each router establishes a relationship-an adjacency-with each of its neighbors.
2.Each router sends link state advertisements (LSAs), some
3.Each router stores a copy of all the LSAs it has seen in a database. If all works well, the databases in all routers should be identical.
4.The completed topological database, also called the link state database, describes a graph of the internetwork. Using the Dijkstra algorithm, each router calculates the shortest path to each network and enters this information into the route table. OSPF Tutorial http://www.9tut.com/ospf-routing-protocol-tutorial