RIP is a distance-vector protocol that uses hop count to measure the distance to a destination. It is a simple Interior Gateway Protocol (IGP) that is easier to implement, configure, and manage than other routing protocols such as OSPF and IS-IS. RIP exchanges routing information using UDP packets through UDP port 520.
Two RIP versions are used in IPv4 networks: RIP version 1 (RIP-1) and RIP version 2 (RIP-2). RIP-2 is an extension to RIP-1.
RIP is widely used on small-sized networks to discover routes and generate routing information. It is not suitable for complex or large-sized networks.