api: YAML JSON TOON Database
version: 1.0.0
format: yaml
dataset:
  id: 2884
  slug: routing-protocols
  title: Routing Protocols
  description: Algorithms and protocols that determine packet paths.
  summary: "The routing protocols and routing techniques network engineers meet most: distance-vector and link-state interior protocols, BGP for the internet, and the static and default routes that tie them together. Each row gives the protocol, its type and what it does."
  use_when:
    - You are choosing a protocol for a campus, WAN or data-center design.
    - You need to describe how a router learns paths.
  caveats:
    - Protocol choice also depends on vendor support, scale and operational skill, not only on the algorithm.
    - Static routing and default routes are configuration, not protocols, and are listed because they appear in every real design.
  related:
    - network-topologies
    - osi-model-layers
    - tcp-ip-protocol-suite
  entry_count: 12
  fields:
    - section: data
      field: protocol
      type: string
      example: RIP
    - section: data
      field: type
      type: string
      example: Distance-vector
    - section: data
      field: description
      type: string
      example: Uses hop count; limited to 15 hops.
  category: Networking
  category_slug: networking
  tags: networking,routing,protocols
  view_count: 46
  created_at: 1793403093
  updated_at: 1793403093
data:
  - protocol: RIP
    type: Distance-vector
    description: Uses hop count; limited to 15 hops.
  - protocol: OSPF
    type: Link-state
    description: Dijkstra-based intra-domain routing.
  - protocol: EIGRP
    type: Advanced distance-vector
    description: Cisco proprietary with fast convergence.
  - protocol: BGP
    type: Path-vector
    description: Inter-domain routing using policies and attributes.
  - protocol: Static Routing
    type: Manual
    description: Administrator configures fixed routes.
  - protocol: Default Route
    type: Manual
    description: Route used when no more specific route matches.
  - protocol: IS-IS
    type: Link-state
    description: Intra-domain link-state protocol widely used in service-provider and large data-center networks.
  - protocol: OSPFv3
    type: Link-state
    description: OSPF for IPv6, carrying IPv6 prefixes.
  - protocol: RIPng
    type: Distance-vector
    description: RIP for IPv6; hop-count metric limited to 15.
  - protocol: Babel
    type: Distance-vector
    description: Loop-avoiding protocol designed for wired and wireless mesh networks.
  - protocol: Policy-Based Routing
    type: Policy
    description: Selects the next hop by criteria such as source address or application instead of the destination alone.
  - protocol: Equal-Cost Multi-Path (ECMP)
    type: Load sharing
    description: Spreads traffic across several paths of equal cost, common in spine-leaf fabrics.