When it comes to internal routing protocols, Routing Information Protocol version 2 (RIPv2) is one of the most common routing protocols in use today. In addition, RIPv2 is one of the easiest protocols to configure.
Meant for
When it comes to internal routing protocols, Routing Information Protocol version 2 (RIPv2) is one of the most common routing protocols in use today. In addition, RIPv2 is one of the easiest protocols to configure.
Meant for smaller networks, RIPv2 does have a number of limitations. However, version 2 boasts some critical improvements over the pervious version. RIPv2 is a valuable tool that provides quick and simple IP routing, and it should be in every network administrator's toolbox.
This week, I want to review some common things every network administrator needs to know about RIPv2. We'll start with RIP fundamentals and then discuss how to configure this protocol.
What type of routing protocol is RIP?
Based on RFC 1388, 1723, and 2453, RIP is a distance-vector routing protocol. Its primarily limitation is that it can't support a network that has more than 15 hops. RIP assumes that anything more than 15 hops is infinity, so it considers the route invalid. Despite this limitation, RIP works great for basic route communications between devices.
Its other benefit is that it's so widespread. Many routers come with RIP by default, even many small office routers. In addition, many firewalls support RIP, but not OSPF or EIGRP.
Here are some important RIP facts:
- RIP's administrative distance is 120 for both RIPv1 and RIPv2.
- RIPv2 sends routing updates via multicast address 188.8.131.52.
- Cisco routers don't enable RIPv2 by default. To use RIPv2, you must use the ver 2 command in RIP Router Configuration Mode.
- RIP automatically summarizes routing updates. You can disable this by using the no auto-summary command.
- RIP uses hop count as its metric.
How does RIP work?
With RIP, a router sends its full routing table to all other connected routers every 30 seconds. Triggered updates can also occur if a router goes down before the 30-second timer has expired.
RIP performs "routing by rumor" and is more prone to loops than other routing protocols. That's because a RIP router sends its entire routing table to every other router. All other routers do the same, and because there's no real neighbor relationship or calculation of routes, the routers have little firsthand knowledge of available networks.
Because of this, it can turn out like the old telephone game you used to play as 