What does the metric in link-state protocols enable?

In link-state protocols, the metric plays a crucial role in facilitating the calculation of the best path to a destination. Link-state protocols, such as OSPF (Open Shortest Path First) and IS-IS (Intermediate System to Intermediate System), utilize metrics to evaluate the cost associated with each link within the network. Each router within such protocols shares information about its directly connected links, including their costs, which contribute to a complete view of the network topology.

When a router receives this link-state information, it constructs a full topology of the network and applies algorithms like Dijkstra's algorithm to determine the shortest or most efficient path to each destination based on the cumulative metric values of the links. This approach ensures robust and efficient routing decisions, allowing the network to adapt to changes in real-time.

The other options do not accurately describe the primary function of the metric in link-state protocols. For example, while administrative distance is a factor in routing decisions, it is not derived from link-state metrics but rather is a predefined value that influences how routes are chosen when multiple routes to the same destination exist across different routing protocols. Similarly, while bandwidth can be a contributing factor to a link's cost, the metric itself is more often related to a routing cost rather than