RIP Protocol

Working of RIP Protocol

• Rip Protocol uses a routing table that stores the count of the best path to reach the destination. It consists of the destination address, next hop router, and distance to reach the network.

• RIP router updates the values and informs other routers in a network about this update. It uses multicast messages to inform all routers about this update. 
   
• When a router receives information about the update, it compares it with its table and updates it as a new network path. 
   
• RIP uses a hop count metric to calculate the best path to a destination network. It is discarded if the hop count is more, but if the hop count is low, it is considered the best path. If a link fails or something is wrong in a network, then a direct message is sent to the other routers. Updates occur every 30 seconds.

• To prevent routing loops, rip protocol uses a technique known as split horizon. It contains a router from updating to the same router from which it has received a message.

For example, if a network consists of 8 routers and is named router 1, router 2, and so on. If you want to send your information from router 1 to router 3, there are many possibilities. We must select the lowest distance to optimize performance using the rip protocol. As in the diagram above, you can see many ways; if you want to send information from router 1 to router 3, there is a path with router 2, whose total distance is 2, which is the lowest compared to other routers.

RIP Protocol Message Format

The RIP message has the following fields:

• Command: it has 8 bits fields. It is used in requesting or replying. The value for the request is 1, and the value of the reply is 2.
   
• Version: it refers to which protocol version you are using. If you are using version 1, the field value will be 1, and if you are using version 2, the field value will be 2.
   
• Reserved: It is a reserved field. It contains all zeros. 
   
• Family: it has a 16-bit field. It consists of the TCP/IP family, so the value would be 2.
   
• Network Address: it has a field of 14 bytes. If you are using IPv4, then 4 bytes are used, and the remaining will contain 10 bytes with all zeros. 
   
• Distance: it stores the value of hop count.

Difference between RIP version 1 and RIP version 2

Use Cases Of RIP Protocol

• Rip Protocols are used in small networking applications. It is easy to configure. It's highly beneficial for areas where there is a low amount of traffic. It can be used in areas like small offices, homes, or schools.
   
• They are used in case of redundant routing. For example, other uses RIP if there is a redundant area network with three routers connected to the same subnet and configured OSPF(Open Shortest Path First). If OSPF fails, then in that case, RIP will keep on working until OSPF is restored.

Limitation of RIP Protocol

• It sends the information to all the other routers except the one from whom he has received it. This creates a lot of traffic in the network. This is known as split-horizon.
   
• It creates loops in networking which are not suitable for the performance of the network.
   
• It always supports only equal-cost load balancing.
   
• It does not support the VLSM (Variable Length Subnet Mask). It does not include the Subnet mask information.
   
• It faces a problem of slow convergence.
   
• The rip protocol has the highest Ad value, which is less reliable than other protocols.

Advantages of RIP Protocol

• Rip protocol is easy to configure. There is a feasible configuration in the rip protocol.
   
• There is little complexity in this protocol.
   
• Uses less storage or resources.
   
• CPU utilization is significantly less.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the use cases of RIP Protocol?

RIP Protocols are basically used in small offices or home networks, they are also used in the cases of limited bandwidth and they are even used in case of redundant networks.

What are some alternative routing protocols to RIP protocol?

Other alternative routing protocols are  Open Shortest Path First(OSPF), Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol(EIGRP), and Border Gateway Protocol (BGP). OSPF supports hierarchical network design, EIGRP supports fast convergence and load balancing, and BGP is used for inter-domain routing.

How does the hold-down timer in RIP protocol work?

A hold-down timer prevents the router from accepting new information about a route for a certain period after it has revived a route update indicating that the route is unreachable.

Can RIP protocol be used for large and complex networks?

RIP protocol can be used for large and complex networks but is generally not recommended as it has low convergence time and support classless addressing. You can use OSPF or BGP for larger and more complex networks.

What is the purpose of the split horizon in RIP?

The purpose of the split horizon is to prevent routers from advertising a router back from where the information has been received. It prevents creating a loop by ensuring that the router does not send back traffic to the same router from where it has received that information.

Also See - Locked based protocol in DBMS 

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Routing Information Protocol (RIP) is one of the distance vector routing protocols. It is a Distance vector protocol that hop counts as its primary metric. It is mainly used for small-size networks. It is easy to configure and simple to implement. However, RIP protocol has some limitations, like it has slow convergence time, some scalability issues, creates some loops, and some more. As a result, it is only suitable for some more extensive or complex networks.

In this article, we have discussed how the RIP protocol works and the difference between RIP version 1 and RIP version 2. We even discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the RIP protocol. 

To know more about this topic, do check out the link below -

• Distance Vector Routing Algorithm.
   
• Link State Routing.
   
• Network Protocols In Computer Network.
   

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