What is RIP Protocol?

What is RIP (Routing Information Protocol) in Networking?

Quick Insight

RIP is a distance vector protocol that picks the route with the fewest hops, capped at 15. It floods its full routing table out every active port once every 30 seconds. This keeps small networks in sync with almost no manual setup. But that constant broadcast eats bandwidth and slows down convergence on larger networks. You still see it in labs or tiny flat LANs where ease wins over speed. So, it stays a simple starting point before moving to smarter routing methods.

RIP (Routing Information Protocol) is a Distance Vector routing protocol commonly used in ancient times.

RIP Protocol Definition and Versions

The RIP routing protocol is defined in RFC 1058. It sends the routing table from the active interfaces every 30 seconds and also uses the Hop Count. Its maximum Hop Count is 15, and 16 is considered unreachable.

It works very well in small networks. However, it is not recommended for use on extensive networks.

How Does It Work?

When a router receives a modified routing table, it first updates its routing table to notify the other Routers of the change.

If the router learns a new route from another router, it increases the number of routes before adding the new route to its routing table.

When the router updates its routing table, it uses Triggered Updates to forward this change to other routers.

The RIP protocol is simple and easy to use in a small network. It is the most widely used routing protocol because of its simplicity and ease of use.

Disadvantages

Allows up to 15 hops.
Regularly sends a copy of the entire routing table to neighboring routers that are directly connected.
Increases the routing table network traffic.
In an extensive network, integration becomes very slow during a network change.

What are the RIP Protocol Versions?

Version 1
Version 2

Version 1

Version 1 uses classful routing. For class routing, all network devices must be on the same network. RIPv1 does not send subnet mask information in the routing table update.

Version 2

Version 2 uses classless routing. In the routing table update, the subnet can send the mask information.

The significant difference between the RIP1 and RIP2 versions is that RIP1 does not send subnet mask information in route updates, but RIP2 sends subnet mask information.

How to Configure? ⇒ Video

You can watch the video below to use RIP in a small network topology on Cisco Packet Tracer, and also subscribe to our YouTube channel to support us!

Watch on YouTube

You can also watch the following video to configure RIP step by step on GNS3!

Watch on YouTube

Conclusion

In this article, we have briefly talked about the Routing Information Protocol. Nowadays, the OSPF routing protocol is more widely used. In the following articles, we will be examining more advanced protocols. Thanks for following us!

What is RIP (Routing Information Protocol) in Networking?