OSPF Hello messages are multicasted to what address?

Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) is a routing protocol used to facilitate the exchange of routing information between routers in a network. OSPF Hello messages are specifically designed to establish and maintain Neighbor relationships, which are essential for the protocol to function correctly.

OSPF Hello messages are sent to the multicast address 224.0.0.5. This address is used for the purpose of reaching all OSPF routers on the local network. When a router sends OSPF Hello messages to this address, all OSPF-enabled routers on the same local segment will receive it, allowing them to discover each other and exchange essential information regarding network topology.

The use of a multicast address allows OSPF to efficiently send messages to multiple routers without needing to send separate unicast messages to each one individually. This behavior enhances OSPF's efficiency in dynamically discovering neighbors and maintaining the topology database.

In contrast, the other options refer to different multicast addresses. While 224.0.0.6 is used for Designated Routers (DR) and Backup Designated Routers (BDR) to receive OSPF updates, it is not utilized for the Hello messages themselves. The addresses in the 239.0.0.0