Routing Information Protocol, or RIP, is a (a) ______ algorithm and uses (b) ______ for its algorithm metrics.

• A. Link State/Cost
• B. Distance Vector/Hop Count
• C. Hybrid/Delay
• D. Distance Vector/Bandwidth

Answer: (B)

RIP is a distance-vector routing protocol, where each router shares its view of routes with its neighbors rather than building a complete map of the network. The metric RIP uses to choose the best path is the hop count—the number of routers a packet must pass through to reach a destination. Each hop adds one to the distance, and RIP limits routes to 15 hops; anything 16 or more is considered unreachable. This simple hop-count metric fits the distance-vector approach, unlike link-state protocols that construct a full network map, or hybrid approaches that blend methods. Metrics based on delay or bandwidth aren’t used by RIP, which is why hop count is the correct metric.