OSPF Version 3 for IPv6 Terms and Acronyms
Open Shortest Path First (OSPF)
A link-state IGP that makes routing decisions based on the shortest-path-first (SPF) algorithm (also referred to as the Dijkstra algorithm).
link-state advertisement (LSA)
A multi-tiered message format for OSPFv2 and OSPFv3 that carries information about the OSPF network to OSPF-enabled routers. The collection of LSAs forms the link-state database used by the routers to select optimum paths. Different LSA levels limit the scope of OSPF protocol message delivery to links, areas, or autonomous systems (ASs).