1. Routing Information Protocol (RIP)

2. RIP -- What is it?
RIP is a routing protocol for exchanging routing table information between routers.
Routing updates must be passed between routers so that they can make the proper choice on how to route a packet.

3. RIP Characteristics Distance vector routing protocol.
Uses hop count as a path selection metric.
Three types of timers.
Multiple stability features.

4. Distance Vector Routing Protocol
Each router sends all or part of its routing table in routing updates. However, the updates are only sent to neighboring routers.
Cisco Systems Inc.

5. Hop Count -- Fifteen Hop Limit
Hop count is the sum of all the legs in a route.
After 15 hops, the packet is discarded
Lucent Technologies

6. Timers Routing-update timer Route timeout Route-flush timer
By default, routers send updates every 30 seconds.
A small random number is added to prevent collisions.
Route timeout
A route timeout timer is associated with a route. When it expires, the route is marked invalid.
Route-flush timer
After the route timeout expires, the route-flush timer eventually expires, deleting the route from the table.

7. Multiple Stability Features
Split Horizon
Information learned about a route is not sent back out the interface it was learned from.
Hold-down mechanisms
When a link in a route fails, that route is put in a hold-down state, where routers neither send or receive updates about that route.

8. Rip Packet A -- Command - request or response.
B -- Version # - specifies version of RIP.
C -- Zero - Not used.
D -- Address Family Identifier (AFI) - Indicates type of address being specified (IP, IPX, etc)
E -- Address - Specifies IP address of entry.
F -- Metric - # of hops traversed from source to destination

9. Drawbacks RIP version 1 does not recognize subnets.
This feature was added in RIP version 2.
Because RIP only uses hop count as a metric, packets may be forced to take a slower route with less hops over a faster route with more hops.
Other routing protocols use a combination of different metrics to calculate a route.

10. RIP v1