RIP Uses Hop Count Metric | Generated by AI
Question: Which routing protocol uses hop count as its metric?
A) OSPF
B) RIP
C) BGP
D) EIGRP
Answer:
The correct answer is B) RIP.
- RIP (Routing Information Protocol): Uses hop count (the number of routers a packet must pass through) as its primary and only metric. The maximum hop count is 15, and 16 indicates an unreachable network.
- OSPF (Open Shortest Path First): Uses cost, primarily based on bandwidth (cumulative interface costs), not hop count.
- BGP (Border Gateway Protocol): Uses path attributes like AS path length, local preference, and others; hop count is not its metric.
- EIGRP (Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol): Uses a composite metric based on bandwidth, delay, load, reliability, and MTU (though bandwidth and delay are the primary factors); it does not rely solely on hop count.
RIP is the classic distance-vector protocol designed for smaller networks where simplicity (hop count) is prioritized over more accurate metrics like bandwidth.