Dense and Sparse Routing Modes

Dense mode

Network is flooded with traffic on all possible branches, then pruned back as branches explicitly (by message) or implicitly (time-out silence) eliminate themselves.

LANs—Networks in which all possible subnets are likely to have at least one receiver.

Sparse mode

Network establishes and sends packets only on branches that have at least one leaf indicating (by message) a need for the traffic.

WANs—Network in which very few of the possible receivers require packets from this source.