RIP

ROUTING INFORMATION PROTOCOL:

Overview
RIP is a distance-vector routing protocol designed for small to medium
networks.

Determines routes using the Bellman-Ford algorithm.

Updates routing tables every 30 seconds using UDP port 520.

Key Features

Metric: Uses hop count (maximum 15 hops; 16 is unreachable).

Routing Updates:

Full routing table sent periodically.

By default, RIP supports up to 4 equal-cost paths for load balancing.

Administrative Distance: 120 by default.

Implements split horizon and route poisoning for loop prevention.

RIP Versions

RIPv1 (Classful):

No support for subnet masks or VLSM.

Sends updates via broadcast (255.255.255.255).

RIPv2 (Classless):

Includes subnet masks; supports VLSM and dis-contiguous networks.

Sends updates via multicast (224.0.0.9).

Supports authentication and route tagging.

RIP ng(next gen): Extension for IPv6 networks.

RIP Basic Setup:

Router(config)# router rip
Router(config-router)# version 2
Router(config-router)# network <network-ID>
Router(config-router)# no auto-summary // Prevents auto-summarization

RIP 1
 Timers:

1. Update Timer (30 seconds):

RIP sends updates every 30 seconds by default.

The router regularly broadcasts its routing table to its neighbors.

2. Invalid Timer (180 seconds):

If no updates are received about a particular route for 180 seconds,

that route is considered invalid.

At this point, the router marks the route as unreachable by setting the
metric to 16 (known as a "poison route").

Important: The route is still in the routing table at this stage, but it's
marked as unreachable (16).

3. Hold-Down Timer (180 seconds):

Suppresses route changes to stabilize the network.

A route will enter a hold-down state for one of three reasons:

The invalid timer has expired.

An update has been received from another router, marking that route
with a metric of 16 (or unreachable).

An update has been received from another router, marking that route
with a higher metric than what is currently in the routing table. This is to
prevent loops.

4. Flush Timer: (240 seconds):

After the route has been in the invalid state and hold-down state for a
total of 240 seconds, it is then flushed (removed) from the routing
table entirely.

Flush timer is the final stage of the process, and it ensures the stale
route is completely erased from the table after waiting the full 240
seconds.

Configuring RIP Timers:

The timers basic command allows you to modify the default RIP timers
(Update, Invalid, Hold-down, and Flush timers) to custom values.

RIP 2
 Command Breakdown:
Router(config)# router rip
Router(config-router)# timers basic 20 120 120 160

20 : This sets the Update Timer to 20 seconds (default is 30 seconds).

120 : This sets the Invalid Timer to 120 seconds (default is 180 seconds).

120: This sets the Hold-down Timer to 120 seconds (default is 180
seconds).

160 : This sets the Flush Timer to 160 seconds (default is 240 seconds).

To Reset Timers to Default:

Router(config-router)# no timers basic

timers basic allows you to change RIP timers to customized values.

no timers basic restores the timers to their default values.

Loop Avoidance Mechanisms:

Split Horizon: Prevents sending updates back to the source.
If Router A learns a route to
192.168.1.0/24 via Router B, it will not advertise this route back to Router B.

Split-horizon is enabled by default on Cisco Routers.

Route Poisoning: Advertises unreachable routes with a metric of 16. If

Router A cannot reach 192.168.1.0/24 , it advertises this route with a metric
of 16 to tell all other routers that the route is unreachable.

Hold-Down Timers: Suppresses updates for routes in hold-down state. If

Router A detects that a route is invalid (metric 16), it will prevent updates for
this route from being accepted for 180 seconds.

Troubleshooting Commands
1. show ip route - Displays routing table.

2. show ip protocols - Verifies RIP timers, networks, and version control.

3. show ip rip database - Displays RIP-specific routes.

show ip route rip - Displays RIP routes.

debug ip rip - Monitors RIP updates in real time.

RIP 3
 What is Passive Interfaces in RIP?
The passive-interface command allows administrators to control which
interfaces participate in the RIP process. By marking an interface as passive,
RIP:

Stops sending updates out of that interface.

Still allows receiving updates on that interface.

Configuration Example:
1. Mark an Interface as Passive: Router(config)# router rip
Router(config-router)# passive-interface <interface-ID>

2. Set All Interfaces as Passive by Default: Router(config-router)# passive-

interface default
Router(config-router)# no passive-interface <interface-ID>

What is default-information originate in RIP?

When a router has a default route (used to send packets to unknown
destinations) and you want to share this default route with other routers in your
network using RIP, you use the default-information originate command.

The default-information originate command is used to:

Advertise a default route (0.0.0.0/0) to other RIP-enabled routers in the

network.

Helps other routers in the RIP domain know where to forward packets
destined for unknown or external networks.

Commonly used to provide access to the internet or external networks by

advertising a single exit point.

Instead of propagating individual external routes, the default route reduces

the size of the routing table.

To enable default route propagation in RIP:

1. Configure a default route on the router (using ip route 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 <next-

hop-IP> ).

2. The next hop could be:

The directly connected neighbor router.

An intermediary gateway in a broader network (e.g., an ISP's router

RIP 4
 Router(config)# router rip
Router(config-router)# version 2
Router(config-router)# default-information originate

What is Auto-Summary in RIP?

Auto-summarization is a default feature in RIP.

When RIP shares routes with other routers, it automatically rounds off the
network addresses to classful boundaries (like 10.0.0.0/8 or
192.168.0.0/16 ).

This is done even if the sub-netted networks don't belong to the same
major network.

Let’s say you have two networks:

192.168.1.0/24

192.168.2.0/24

With auto-summary, RIP will automatically combine these two networks and
advertise them as 192.168.0.0/16 , which is incorrect because the networks are
not adjacent. This could cause routing issues.

The no auto-summary command turns off auto-summarization.

This means RIP will advertise the exact network (like 192.168.1.0/24 and
192.168.2.0/24 ), instead of summarizing them as 192.168.0.0/16 .

Router(config)# router rip

Router(config-router)# no auto-summary

RIP Authentication Overview in RIPv2

RIPv2 allows you to secure routing updates using authentication to prevent
unauthorized routers from injecting bad routes into the network. Authentication
ensures that only routers with the correct key can participate in RIP routing.

Steps for Configuring RIP Authentication

Step 1: Create a Key Chain

1. Define a key chain with a unique name (e.g., MYCHAIN ).

2. Create a key and associate it with the key chain (e.g., key 1 ).

3. Define the key string (password) that both routers will use.

RIP 5
 RouterA(config)# key chain MYCHAIN
RouterA(config-keychain)# key 1
RouterA(config-keychain-key)# key-string MYPASSWORD

RouterB(config)# key chain MYCHAIN

RouterB(config-keychain)# key 1
RouterB(config-keychain-key)# key-string MYPASSWORD

Key Chain: This holds the key(s) used for authentication.

Key 1: Specifies the key number.

Key-string: This is the shared password or key used for authentication.

Step 2: Apply Key Chain to the Interface

You now apply the key chain to the interfaces where RIP is running.

RouterA(config)# interface s0
RouterA(config-if)# ip rip authentication key-chain MYCHAIN

RouterB(config)# interface s0
RouterB(config-if)# ip rip authentication key-chain MYCHAIN

applies the key chain to the interface so

ip rip authentication key-chain MYCHAIN

that RIP updates on this interface are authenticated using the key chain.

Step 3: Choose Authentication Mode

You can choose between two types of authentication:

1. Clear-text Authentication (not secure):

Sends the key in plain text.

Use this if you want simpler configuration, but it’s less secure.

RouterA(config-if)# ip rip authentication mode text

RouterB(config-if)# ip rip authentication mode text

2. MD5 Authentication (more secure):

MD5 encryption is used to hash the key, which adds a layer of security.

RIP 6
 RouterA(config-if)# ip rip authentication mode md5
RouterB(config-if)# ip rip authentication mode md5

Important: The authentication mode (text or MD5) must match on both

routers to successfully authenticate RIP updates.

Key Chains: You can use different key chains on different interfaces if
needed (e.g., Router-A and Router-B may use one key chain for their direct
connection and a different one for another router’s interface).

Matching Keys: The key string and authentication mode (text or MD5)
must be the same on both routers for RIP authentication to work properly.

Key Points to Remember

RIP is best suited for small-scale networks due to its simplicity and low
resource usage.

Use RIPv2 for modern implementations, as it supports classless routing.

Avoid RIP for large networks due to its hop-count limitation and slow
convergence.

RIP Load Balancing distributes traffic across equal-cost paths based on

hop count.

Default Behavior: Supports up to 4 paths, extendable to 6.

Configuration: No special commands are required unless increasing the

maximum paths.

Limitation: Only supports equal-cost paths.

RIP 7