We review two basic problems for graphs:

* Constructing a small space distance oracle that, for any pair (u,v) of nodes, provides a quick and good estimate of the distance from u to v.

* Distributing the distance oracle in a labaling scheme that can be used for efficient routing.

For general graphs, near-optimal trade-offs between space and precission are discussed. Better results for planar and bounded tree-width graphs are also discussed.