RIP Protocol and how it directs our information

The Routing Information Protocol (RIP) is used to manage router information in a self-contained network, such as a corporate LAN or a private WAN. With RIP, the gateway host sends its routing table to the nearest router every 30 seconds. This router sends the contents of its routing tables to neighboring routers. RIP is best for small networks. This is because transmitting the entire routing table every 30 seconds can put a large traffic load on the network and because RIP tables are limited to 15 hops. OSPF is a better option for large networks.

RIP uses a distance vector algorithm to decide which route to place a packet to reach its destination. Each RIP router maintains a routing table, which is a list of all the destinations that the router knows how to reach. Each router broadcasts its complete routing table to its closest neighbors every 30 seconds. In this context, neighbors are the other routers to which a router is directly connected, that is, the other routers on the same network segments as the selected router.

If a router receives an update on a route and the new route is shorter, it will update the table entry with the length and address of the next hop of the shorter route. If the new path is longer, it will wait a “hold” period to see if subsequent updates reflect the higher value as well. It will only update the table entry if the new longest path has been determined to be stable.

There are currently three versions of the Routing Information Protocol: RIPv1, RIPv2, and RIPng.

▸RIPv1

RIPv1, standardized in 1988, is also called a Classful Routing Protocol because it does not send subnet mask information in its routing updates.

▸RIPv2

RIPv2, standardized in 1998, is called the Classless Routing Protocol because it sends subnet mask information in its routing updates. In addition, this method advanced that of RIPv1 and began to include subnet masks and gateways. Additionally, the routing table in RIPv1 is broadcast to all stations on the connected network, while RIPv2 sends the routing table to a multicast address in an effort to reduce network traffic.

▸RIPng

Por ultimo RIPng es una extensión de RIPv2 que se creó para admitir IPv6.

RIP uses a modified hop count as a way to determine distance from the network. Modified reflects the fact that network engineers can assign higher cost routes. By default, if a router’s neighbor owns a destination network and can deliver packets directly to the destination network without using any other router, that route has a hop. In network management terminology, this is described as a cost of one.

RIP allows only 15 hops in a route. If a packet cannot reach a destination in 15 hops, the destination is considered unreachable. Routes can be assigned a higher cost (such as involving additional hops) if the company wishes to limit or discourage their use. For example, a satellite backup link can be assigned a cost of 10 to force traffic to follow other routes when available.

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Telnet Protocol – A dedicated management tool

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