Routing Information Protocol (RIP Protocol) is one of the oldest remote vector routing protocols. It is usually used on small networks, because it is very easy to configure and manage, but it lacks some advanced features in routing protocols such as OSPF or EIGRP. There are two versions of protocol version 1 and 2. Both versions use hop counts as a measure and have an administrative distance of 120. RIP version 2 can announce network masks and uses multicast to send routing update bets. while Version 1 does not publish subnet masks and uses are sent for updates. Version 2 is backward compatible with version 1.
