Contents

RIP

RIP is a commonly used routing protocol in small to medium TCP/IP networks. Routing Information Protocol (RIP) is a stable protocol that uses a distance-vector algorithm to calculate routes.

This module describes how to configure RIP.

Finding Feature Information

Your software release may not support all the features documented in this module. For the latest caveats and feature information, see Bug Search Tool and the release notes for your platform and software release. To find information about the features documented in this module, and to see a list of the releases in which each feature is supported, see the feature information table at the end of this module.

Use Cisco Feature Navigator to find information about platform support and Cisco software image support. To access Cisco Feature Navigator, go to www.cisco.com/​go/​cfn. An account on Cisco.com is not required.

Prerequisites for RIP

You must configure ip routing command before you configure RIP.

Restrictions for RIP

Routing Information Protocol (RIP) uses hop count as the metric to rate the value of different routes. The hop count is the number of devices that can be traversed in a route. A directly connected network has a metric of zero; an unreachable network has a metric of 16. This limited metric range makes RIP unsuitable for large networks.

Information About RIP

RIP Overview

The Routing Information Protocol (RIP) uses broadcast UDP data packets to exchange routing information. Cisco software sends routing information updates every 30 seconds, which is termed advertising. If a device does not receive an update from another device for 180 seconds or more, the receiving device marks the routes served by the nonupdating device as unusable. If there is still no update after 240 seconds, the device removes all routing table entries for the nonupdating device.

A device that is running RIP can receive a default network via an update from another device that is running RIP, or the device can source the default network using RIP. In both cases, the default network is advertised through RIP to other RIP neighbors.

The Cisco implementation of RIP Version 2 (RIPv2) supports plain text and message digest algorithm 5 (MD5) authentication, route summarization, classless interdomain routing (CIDR), and variable-length subnet masks (VLSMs).

RIP Routing Updates

The Routing Information Protocol (RIP) sends routing-update messages at regular intervals and when the network topology changes. When a device receives a RIP routing update that includes changes to an entry, the device updates its routing table to reflect the new route. The metric value for the path is increased by 1, and the sender is indicated as the next hop. RIP devices maintain only the best route (the route with the lowest metric value) to a destination. After updating its routing table, the device immediately begins transmitting RIP routing updates to inform other network devices of the change. These updates are sent independently of the regularly scheduled updates that RIP devices send.

Authentication in RIP

The Cisco implementation of the Routing Information Protocol (RIP) Version 2 (RIPv2) supports authentication, key management, route summarization, classless interdomain routing (CIDR), and variable-length subnet masks (VLSMs).

By default, the software receives RIP Version 1 (RIPv1) and RIPv2 packets, but sends only RIPv1 packets. You can configure the software to receive and send only RIPv1 packets. Alternatively, you can configure the software to receive and send only RIPv2 packets. To override the default behavior, you can configure the RIP version that an interface sends. Similarly, you can also control how packets received from an interface are processed.

RIPv1 does not support authentication. If you are sending and receiving RIP v2 packets, you can enable RIP authentication on an interface.

The key chain determines the set of keys that can be used on the interface. Authentication, including default authentication, is performed on that interface only if a key chain is configured. For more information on key chains and their configuration, see the “Managing Authentication Keys” section in the “Configuring IP Routing Protocol-Independent Features” chapter in the Cisco IOS IP Routing: Protocol-Independent Configuration Guide.

Cisco supports two modes of authentication on an interface on which RIP is enabled: plain-text authentication and message digest algorithm 5 (MD5) authentication. Plain-text authentication is the default authentication in every RIPv2 packet.


Note

Do not use plain text authentication in RIP packets for security purposes, because the unencrypted authentication key is sent in every RIPv2 packet. Use plain-text authentication when security is not an issue; for example, you can use plain-text authentication to ensure that misconfigured hosts do not participate in routing.

RIP Routing Metric

The Routing Information Protocol (RIP) uses a single routing metric to measure the distance between the source and the destination network. Each hop in a path from the source to the destination is assigned a hop-count value, which is typically 1. When a device receives a routing update that contains a new or changed destination network entry, the device adds 1 to the metric value indicated in the update and enters the network in the routing table. The IP address of the sender is used as the next hop. If an interface network is not specified in the routing table, it will not be advertised in any RIP update.

RIP Versions

The original version of Routing Information Protocol (RIP), is known as RIP Version 1 (RIPv1). The specification of the RIP, defined in RFC 1058, uses classful routing. Periodic routing updates do not support variable length subnet masks (VLSM) because periodic routing updates do not contain subnet information. All subnets in a network class must be of the same size. Because RIP, as per RFC 1058, does not support VLSM, it is not possible to have subnets of varying sizes inside the same network class. This limitation makes RIP vulnerable to attacks.

To rectify the deficiencies of the original RIP specification, RIP Version 2 (RIPv2), as described in RFC 2453, was developed. RIPv2 has the ability to carry subnet information; thus, it supports Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR).

Exchange of Routing Information

Routing Information Protocol (RIP) is normally a broadcast protocol, and for RIP routing updates to reach nonbroadcast networks, you must configure the Cisco software to permit this exchange of routing information.

To control the set of interfaces with which you want to exchange routing updates, you can disable the sending of routing updates on specified interfaces by configuring the passive-interface router configuration command.

You can use an offset list to increase increasing incoming and outgoing metrics to routes learned via RIP. Optionally, you can limit the offset list with either an access list or an interface.

Routing protocols use several timers that determine variables such as the frequency of routing updates, the length of time before a route becomes invalid, and other parameters. You can adjust these timers to tune routing protocol performance to better suit your internetwork needs. You can make the following timer adjustments:

  • The rate (time, in seconds, between updates) at which routing updates are sent
  • The interval of time, in seconds, after which a route is declared invalid
  • The interval, in seconds, during which routing information about better paths is suppressed
  • The amount of time, in seconds, that must pass before a route is removed from the routing table
  • The amount of time for which routing updates will be postponed

You can adjust the IP routing support in the Cisco software to enable faster convergence of various IP routing algorithms, and hence, cause quicker fallback to redundant devices. The total effect is to minimize disruptions to end users of the network in situations where quick recovery is essential

In addition, an address family can have timers that explicitly apply to that address family (or Virtual Routing and Forwarding [VRF]) instance). The timers-basic command must be specified for an address family or the system defaults for the timers-basic command are used regardless of the timer that is configured for RIP routing. The VRF does not inherit the timer values from the base RIP configuration. The VRF will always use the system default timers unless the timers are explicitly changed using the timers-basic command.

Split Horizon Mechanism

Normally, devices that are connected to broadcast-type IP networks and that use distance-vector routing protocols employ the split horizon mechanism to reduce the possibility of routing loops. The split horizon mechanism blocks information about routes from being advertised by a device out of any interface from which that information originated. This behavior usually optimizes communications among multiple devices, particularly when links are broken. However, with nonbroadcast networks, such as Frame Relay and the Switched Multimegabit Digital System (SMDS), situations can arise for which this behavior is less than ideal. In such situations, you may want to disable split horizon with the Routing Information Protocol (RIP).

If an interface is configured with secondary IP addresses and split horizon is enabled, updates might not be sourced by the secondary address. If split horizon is enabled, one routing update is sourced per network number.

Split horizon is not disabled by default for interfaces using any of the X.25 encapsulations. For all other encapsulations, split horizon is enabled by default.

Source IP Addresses of RIP Routing Updates

By default, the Cisco software validates the source IP address of incoming Routing Information Protocol (RIP) routing updates. If the source address is not valid, the software discards the routing update. You must disable this functionality if you want to receive updates from a device that is not part of this network. However, disabling this functionality is not recommended under normal circumstances.

Neighbor Router Authentication in RIP

You can prevent your device from receiving fraudulent route updates by configuring neighbor router authentication. When configured, neighbor authentication occurs whenever routing updates are exchanged between neighbor devices. This authentication ensures that a device receives reliable routing information from trusted sources.

Without neighbor authentication, unauthorized or deliberately malicious routing updates could compromise network security. A security compromise could occur if someone diverts or analyzes your network traffic. For example, an unauthorized device could send a fictitious routing update to convince your device to send traffic to an incorrect destination. This diverted traffic could be analyzed to learn confidential information about your organization or merely used to disrupt your organization’s ability to effectively communicate using the network. Neighbor authentication prevents any such fraudulent route updates from reaching your device.

When neighbor authentication has been configured on a device, the device authenticates the source of each routing update packet that it receives. This is accomplished by the exchange of an authenticating key (sometimes referred to as a password) that is known to both the sending and receiving devices.

There are two types of neighbor authentication used: plain text authentication and message digest algorithm 5 (MD5) authentication. Both authentication methods work in the same way, with the exception that MD5 sends a message digest (also called a “hash”) instead of the authenticating key. The message digest is created using the key and a message, but the key itself is not sent, preventing the message from being read while the message is being transmitted. Plain text authentication sends an authenticating key over the wire.


Note

Plain text authentication is not recommended for use as part of your security strategy. Its primary use is to avoid accidental changes to the routing infrastructure. Using MD5 authentication, however, is a recommended security practice.

In plain text authentication, each participating neighbor device must share an authenticating key. This key is specified at each device during configuration. Multiple keys can be specified with some protocols; each key must then be identified by a key number.

In general, when a routing update is sent, the following authentication sequence occurs:

  1. A device sends a routing update with a key and the corresponding key number to the neighbor device. In protocols that can have only one key, the key number is always zero. The receiving (neighbor) device checks the received key against the same key stored in its own memory.
    1. If the two keys match, the receiving device accepts the routing update packet. If the two keys do not match, the routing update packet is rejected.

Another form of neighbor device authentication is to configure key management using key chains. When you configure a key chain, you specify a series of keys with lifetimes, and the Cisco software checks each of these keys. This process decreases the likelihood that keys will be compromised. To find the complete configuration information for key chains, refer to the “Configuring IP Routing Protocol-Independent Features” module of the Cisco IOS IP Routing: Protocol-Independent Configuration Guide.

How to Configure RIP

Enabling RIP and Configuring RIP Parameters

SUMMARY STEPS

    1.    enable

    2.    configure terminal

    3.    router rip

    4.    network ip-address

    5.    neighbor ip-address

    6.    offset-list [access-list-number | access-list-name] {in | out} offset [interface-type interface-number]

    7.    timers basic update invalid holddown flush [sleeptime]

    8.    end


DETAILED STEPS
     Command or ActionPurpose
    Step 1 enable


    Example:
    Device> enable
     

    Enables privileged EXEC mode.

    • Enter your password if prompted.
     
    Step 2 configure terminal


    Example:
    Device# configure terminal
     

    Enters global configuration mode.

     
    Step 3 router rip


    Example:
    Device(config)# router rip
     

    Enables a RIP routing process and enters router configuration mode.

     
    Step 4 network ip-address


    Example:
    Device(config-router)# network 10.1.1.0
     

    Associates a network with a RIP routing process.

     
    Step 5 neighbor ip-address


    Example:
    Device(config-router)# neighbor 10.1.1.2
     

    Defines a neighboring device with which to exchange routing information.

     
    Step 6 offset-list [access-list-number | access-list-name] {in | out} offset [interface-type interface-number]


    Example:
    Device(config-router)# offset-list 98 in 1 Ethernet 1/0
     

    (Optional) Applies an offset list to routing metrics.

     
    Step 7 timers basic update invalid holddown flush [sleeptime]


    Example:
    Device(config-router)# timers basic 1 2 3 4
     

    (Optional) Adjusts routing protocol timers.

     
    Step 8 end


    Example:
    Device(config-router)# end
     

    Exits router configuration mode and returns to privileged EXEC mode.

     

    Specifying a RIP Version and Enabling Authentication

    SUMMARY STEPS

      1.    enable

      2.    configure terminal

      3.    router rip

      4.    version {1 | 2}

      5.    exit

      6.    interface type number

      7.    ip rip send version [1] [2]

      8.    ip rip receive version [1] [2]

      9.    ip rip authentication key-chain name-of-chain

      10.    ip rip authentication mode {text | md5}

      11.    end


    DETAILED STEPS
       Command or ActionPurpose
      Step 1 enable


      Example:
      Device> enable
       

      Enables privileged EXEC mode.

      • Enter your password if prompted.
       
      Step 2 configure terminal


      Example:
      Device# configure terminal
       

      Enters global configuration mode.

       
      Step 3 router rip


      Example:
      Device(config)# router rip
       

      Enters router configuration mode.

       
      Step 4 version {1 | 2}


      Example:
      Device(config-router)# version 2
       

      Enables the Cisco software to send only RIP Version 2 (RIPv2) packets.

       
      Step 5 exit


      Example:
      Device(config-router)# exit
       

      Exits the router configuration mode and enters the global configuration mode.

       
      Step 6 interface type number


      Example:
      Device(config)# interface Ethernet 3/0
       

      Specifies an interface and enters interface configuration mode.

       
      Step 7 ip rip send version [1] [2]


      Example:
      Device(config-if)# ip rip send version 2
       

      Configures an interface to send only RIPv2 packets.

       
      Step 8 ip rip receive version [1] [2]


      Example:
      Device(config-if)# ip rip receive version 2
       

      Configures an interface to accept only RIPv2 packets.

       
      Step 9 ip rip authentication key-chain name-of-chain


      Example:
      Device(config-if)# ip rip authentication key-chain chainname
       

      Enables RIP authentication.

       
      Step 10 ip rip authentication mode {text | md5}


      Example:
      Device(config-if)# ip rip authentication mode md5
       

      Configures the interface to use message digest algorithm 5 (MD5) authentication (or let it default to plain-text authentication).

       
      Step 11 end


      Example:
      Device(config-if)# end
       

      Exits interface configuration mode and returns to privileged EXEC mode.

       

      Managing Split Horizon

      SUMMARY STEPS

        1.    enable

        2.    configure terminal

        3.    interface type number

        4.    ip split-horizon

        5.    no ip split-horizon

        6.    end


      DETAILED STEPS
         Command or ActionPurpose
        Step 1 enable


        Example:
        Device> enable
         

        Enables privileged EXEC mode.

        • Enter your password if prompted.
         
        Step 2 configure terminal


        Example:
        Device# configure terminal
         

        Enters global configuration mode.

         
        Step 3 interface type number


        Example:
        Device(config)# interface serial 0/0/0
         

        Specifies an interface and enters interface configuration mode.

         
        Step 4 ip split-horizon


        Example:
        Device(config-if)# ip split-horizon
         

        Enables split horizon.

         
        Step 5 no ip split-horizon


        Example:
        Device(config-if)# no ip split-horizon
         

        Disables split horizon.

         
        Step 6 end


        Example:
        Device(config-if)# end
         

        Exits interface configuration mode and returns to privileged EXEC mode.

         

        Disabling the Validation of Source IP Addresses


        Note

        We recommend that you do not change the state of the default configuration unless you are certain that your application requires making a change in the configuration to advertise routes properly. Remember that if split horizon is disabled on a serial interface (and that interface is attached to a packet-switched network), you must disable split horizon for all devices in any relevant multicast groups on that network.

        The summarized network will not be advertised when split horizon is enabled.

        SUMMARY STEPS

          1.    enable

          2.    configure terminal

          3.    interface type number

          4.    ip split-horizon

          5.    exit

          6.    router rip

          7.    no validate-update-source

          8.    end


        DETAILED STEPS
           Command or ActionPurpose
          Step 1 enable


          Example:
          Device> enable
           

          Enables privileged EXEC mode.

          • Enter your password if prompted.
           
          Step 2 configure terminal


          Example:
          Device# configure terminal
           

          Enters global configuration mode.

           
          Step 3 interface type number


          Example:
          Device(config)# interface serial 0/0/0
           

          Enters interface configuration mode.

           
          Step 4 ip split-horizon


          Example:
          Device(config-if)# ip split-horizon
           

          Enables split horizon.

           
          Step 5 exit


          Example:
          Device(config-if)# exit
           

          Exits interface configuration mode.

           
          Step 6 router rip


          Example:
          Device(config)# router rip
           

          Enters router configuration mode.

           
          Step 7 no validate-update-source


          Example:
          Device(config-router)# no validate-update-source
           

          Disables the validation of the source IP address of incoming Routing Information Protocol (RIP) routing updates.

           
          Step 8 end


          Example:
          Device(config-router)# end
           

          Exits router configuration mode and returns to privileged EXEC mode.

           

          Configuration Examples for RIP

          Example: Enabling RIP and Configuring RIP Parameters

          Device> enable
Device# configure terminal
Device(config)# router rip
Device(config-router)# network 10.1.1.0
Device(config-router)# neighbor 10.1.1.2
Device(config-router)# offset-list 98 in 1 Ethernet 1/0
Device(config-router)# timers basic 1 2 3 4
Device(config-router)# end

          Example: Specifying a RIP Version and Enabling Authentication

          Device> enable
Device# configure terminal
Device(config)# router rip
Device(config-router)# version 2 
Device(config-router)# exit
Device(config)# interface Ethernet 3/0
Device(config-if)# ip rip send version 2
Device(config-if)# ip rip receive version 2
Device(config-if)# ip rip authentication key-chain chainname
Device(config-if)# ip rip authentication mode md5
Device(config-if)# end

          Example: Managing Split Horizon

          The following example shows how to disable split horizon on a serial link. In this example, the serial link is connected to an X.25 network. 

          Device# configure terminal
Device(config)# interface Serial 0/0/0
Device(config-if)# no ip split-horizon
Device(config-if)# end

          The figure below illustrates a typical situation in which the no ip split-horizon interface configuration command would be useful. This figure depicts two IP subnets that are both accessible via a serial interface on Device C that is connected to a Frame Relay network. In this example, the serial interface on Device C accommodates one of the subnets via the assignment of a secondary IP address.

          The Gigabit Ethernet interfaces for Device A, Device B, and Device C (connected to IP networks 10.13.50.0, 10.155.120.0, and 10.20.40.0, respectively) have split horizon enabled by default, while the serial interfaces connected to networks 172.16.1.0 and 192.168.1.0 have split horizon disabled with the no ip split-horizon command. The figure below shows the topology and interfaces.

          The following example shows how to disable split horizon on serial interfaces. Split horizon must be disabled on Device C for network 172.16.0.0 to be advertised into network 192.168.0.0 and vice versa. These subnets overlap at Device C, interface S0. If split horizon is enabled on serial interface S0, the interface would not advertise a route back into the Frame Relay network for either of these networks. 

          ! Configuration for Device A
interface gigabitethernet 0/0/0
 ip address 10.13.50.1
!
interface serial 0/0/0
 ip address 172.16.2.2
 encapsulation frame-relay
 no ip split-horizon 

! Configuration for Device B
interface gigabitethernet 0/0/0
description - configuration for Device B
 ip address 10.155.120.1
!
interface serial 0/0/0
 ip address 192.168.1.2
 encapsulation frame-relay 
 no ip split-horizon

! Configuration for Device C
interface gigabitethernet 0/0/0
 ip address 10.20.40.1
!
interface serial serial 0/0/0
 ip address 172.16.1.1
 ip address 192.168.1.1 secondary
 encapsulation frame-relay 
 no ip split-horizon

          Example: Disabling the Validation of Source IP Addresses

          Device> enable
Device# configure terminal
Device(config)# interface serial 0/0/0
Device(config-if)# ip split-horizon
Device(config-if)# exit
Device(config)# router rip
Device(config-router)# no validate-update-source
Device(config-router)# end

          Additional References for RIP

          Related Documents

          Related Topic

          Document Title

          Cisco IOS Commands

          Cisco IOS Master Command List, All Releases

          IP Routing: RIP commands

          Cisco IOS IP Routing: RIP Command Reference

          Standards and RFCs

          Standards/RFC

          Title

          RFC 1058

          Routing Information Protocol

          RFC 2453

          RIP Version 2

          Technical Assistance

          Description

          Link

          The Cisco Support and Documentation website provides online resources to download documentation, software, and tools. Use these resources to install and configure the software and to troubleshoot and resolve technical issues with Cisco products and technologies. Access to most tools on he Cisco Support and Documentation we site requires a Cisco.com user ID and password.

          http:/​/​www.cisco.com/​cisco/​web/​support/​index.html

          Feature Information for RIP

          The following table provides release information about the feature or features described in this module. This table lists only the software release that introduced support for a given feature in a given software release train. Unless noted otherwise, subsequent releases of that software release train also support that feature.

          Use Cisco Feature Navigator to find information about platform support and Cisco software image support. To access Cisco Feature Navigator, go to www.cisco.com/​go/​cfn. An account on Cisco.com is not required.

          Table 1 Feature Information for RIP

          Feature Name

          Releases

          Feature Information

          RIP

          Cisco IOS XE Release 2.6

          Cisco IOS XE Release 3.2SE

          RIP is a commonly used routing protocol in small to medium TCP/IP networks. RIP is a stable protocol that uses a distance-vector algorithm to calculate routes.

          RIP

          RIP

          RIP is a commonly used routing protocol in small to medium TCP/IP networks. Routing Information Protocol (RIP) is a stable protocol that uses a distance-vector algorithm to calculate routes.

          This module describes how to configure RIP.

          Finding Feature Information

          Your software release may not support all the features documented in this module. For the latest caveats and feature information, see Bug Search Tool and the release notes for your platform and software release. To find information about the features documented in this module, and to see a list of the releases in which each feature is supported, see the feature information table at the end of this module.

          Use Cisco Feature Navigator to find information about platform support and Cisco software image support. To access Cisco Feature Navigator, go to www.cisco.com/​go/​cfn. An account on Cisco.com is not required.

          Prerequisites for RIP

          You must configure ip routing command before you configure RIP.

          Restrictions for RIP

          Routing Information Protocol (RIP) uses hop count as the metric to rate the value of different routes. The hop count is the number of devices that can be traversed in a route. A directly connected network has a metric of zero; an unreachable network has a metric of 16. This limited metric range makes RIP unsuitable for large networks.

          Information About RIP

          RIP Overview

          The Routing Information Protocol (RIP) uses broadcast UDP data packets to exchange routing information. Cisco software sends routing information updates every 30 seconds, which is termed advertising. If a device does not receive an update from another device for 180 seconds or more, the receiving device marks the routes served by the nonupdating device as unusable. If there is still no update after 240 seconds, the device removes all routing table entries for the nonupdating device.

          A device that is running RIP can receive a default network via an update from another device that is running RIP, or the device can source the default network using RIP. In both cases, the default network is advertised through RIP to other RIP neighbors.

          The Cisco implementation of RIP Version 2 (RIPv2) supports plain text and message digest algorithm 5 (MD5) authentication, route summarization, classless interdomain routing (CIDR), and variable-length subnet masks (VLSMs).

          RIP Routing Updates

          The Routing Information Protocol (RIP) sends routing-update messages at regular intervals and when the network topology changes. When a device receives a RIP routing update that includes changes to an entry, the device updates its routing table to reflect the new route. The metric value for the path is increased by 1, and the sender is indicated as the next hop. RIP devices maintain only the best route (the route with the lowest metric value) to a destination. After updating its routing table, the device immediately begins transmitting RIP routing updates to inform other network devices of the change. These updates are sent independently of the regularly scheduled updates that RIP devices send.

          Authentication in RIP

          The Cisco implementation of the Routing Information Protocol (RIP) Version 2 (RIPv2) supports authentication, key management, route summarization, classless interdomain routing (CIDR), and variable-length subnet masks (VLSMs).

          By default, the software receives RIP Version 1 (RIPv1) and RIPv2 packets, but sends only RIPv1 packets. You can configure the software to receive and send only RIPv1 packets. Alternatively, you can configure the software to receive and send only RIPv2 packets. To override the default behavior, you can configure the RIP version that an interface sends. Similarly, you can also control how packets received from an interface are processed.

          RIPv1 does not support authentication. If you are sending and receiving RIP v2 packets, you can enable RIP authentication on an interface.

          The key chain determines the set of keys that can be used on the interface. Authentication, including default authentication, is performed on that interface only if a key chain is configured. For more information on key chains and their configuration, see the “Managing Authentication Keys” section in the “Configuring IP Routing Protocol-Independent Features” chapter in the Cisco IOS IP Routing: Protocol-Independent Configuration Guide.

          Cisco supports two modes of authentication on an interface on which RIP is enabled: plain-text authentication and message digest algorithm 5 (MD5) authentication. Plain-text authentication is the default authentication in every RIPv2 packet.


          Note

          Do not use plain text authentication in RIP packets for security purposes, because the unencrypted authentication key is sent in every RIPv2 packet. Use plain-text authentication when security is not an issue; for example, you can use plain-text authentication to ensure that misconfigured hosts do not participate in routing.

          RIP Routing Metric

          The Routing Information Protocol (RIP) uses a single routing metric to measure the distance between the source and the destination network. Each hop in a path from the source to the destination is assigned a hop-count value, which is typically 1. When a device receives a routing update that contains a new or changed destination network entry, the device adds 1 to the metric value indicated in the update and enters the network in the routing table. The IP address of the sender is used as the next hop. If an interface network is not specified in the routing table, it will not be advertised in any RIP update.

          RIP Versions

          The original version of Routing Information Protocol (RIP), is known as RIP Version 1 (RIPv1). The specification of the RIP, defined in RFC 1058, uses classful routing. Periodic routing updates do not support variable length subnet masks (VLSM) because periodic routing updates do not contain subnet information. All subnets in a network class must be of the same size. Because RIP, as per RFC 1058, does not support VLSM, it is not possible to have subnets of varying sizes inside the same network class. This limitation makes RIP vulnerable to attacks.

          To rectify the deficiencies of the original RIP specification, RIP Version 2 (RIPv2), as described in RFC 2453, was developed. RIPv2 has the ability to carry subnet information; thus, it supports Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR).

          Exchange of Routing Information

          Routing Information Protocol (RIP) is normally a broadcast protocol, and for RIP routing updates to reach nonbroadcast networks, you must configure the Cisco software to permit this exchange of routing information.

          To control the set of interfaces with which you want to exchange routing updates, you can disable the sending of routing updates on specified interfaces by configuring the passive-interface router configuration command.

          You can use an offset list to increase increasing incoming and outgoing metrics to routes learned via RIP. Optionally, you can limit the offset list with either an access list or an interface.

          Routing protocols use several timers that determine variables such as the frequency of routing updates, the length of time before a route becomes invalid, and other parameters. You can adjust these timers to tune routing protocol performance to better suit your internetwork needs. You can make the following timer adjustments:

          • The rate (time, in seconds, between updates) at which routing updates are sent
          • The interval of time, in seconds, after which a route is declared invalid
          • The interval, in seconds, during which routing information about better paths is suppressed
          • The amount of time, in seconds, that must pass before a route is removed from the routing table
          • The amount of time for which routing updates will be postponed

          You can adjust the IP routing support in the Cisco software to enable faster convergence of various IP routing algorithms, and hence, cause quicker fallback to redundant devices. The total effect is to minimize disruptions to end users of the network in situations where quick recovery is essential

          In addition, an address family can have timers that explicitly apply to that address family (or Virtual Routing and Forwarding [VRF]) instance). The timers-basic command must be specified for an address family or the system defaults for the timers-basic command are used regardless of the timer that is configured for RIP routing. The VRF does not inherit the timer values from the base RIP configuration. The VRF will always use the system default timers unless the timers are explicitly changed using the timers-basic command.

          Split Horizon Mechanism

          Normally, devices that are connected to broadcast-type IP networks and that use distance-vector routing protocols employ the split horizon mechanism to reduce the possibility of routing loops. The split horizon mechanism blocks information about routes from being advertised by a device out of any interface from which that information originated. This behavior usually optimizes communications among multiple devices, particularly when links are broken. However, with nonbroadcast networks, such as Frame Relay and the Switched Multimegabit Digital System (SMDS), situations can arise for which this behavior is less than ideal. In such situations, you may want to disable split horizon with the Routing Information Protocol (RIP).

          If an interface is configured with secondary IP addresses and split horizon is enabled, updates might not be sourced by the secondary address. If split horizon is enabled, one routing update is sourced per network number.

          Split horizon is not disabled by default for interfaces using any of the X.25 encapsulations. For all other encapsulations, split horizon is enabled by default.

          Source IP Addresses of RIP Routing Updates

          By default, the Cisco software validates the source IP address of incoming Routing Information Protocol (RIP) routing updates. If the source address is not valid, the software discards the routing update. You must disable this functionality if you want to receive updates from a device that is not part of this network. However, disabling this functionality is not recommended under normal circumstances.

          Neighbor Router Authentication in RIP

          You can prevent your device from receiving fraudulent route updates by configuring neighbor router authentication. When configured, neighbor authentication occurs whenever routing updates are exchanged between neighbor devices. This authentication ensures that a device receives reliable routing information from trusted sources.

          Without neighbor authentication, unauthorized or deliberately malicious routing updates could compromise network security. A security compromise could occur if someone diverts or analyzes your network traffic. For example, an unauthorized device could send a fictitious routing update to convince your device to send traffic to an incorrect destination. This diverted traffic could be analyzed to learn confidential information about your organization or merely used to disrupt your organization’s ability to effectively communicate using the network. Neighbor authentication prevents any such fraudulent route updates from reaching your device.

          When neighbor authentication has been configured on a device, the device authenticates the source of each routing update packet that it receives. This is accomplished by the exchange of an authenticating key (sometimes referred to as a password) that is known to both the sending and receiving devices.

          There are two types of neighbor authentication used: plain text authentication and message digest algorithm 5 (MD5) authentication. Both authentication methods work in the same way, with the exception that MD5 sends a message digest (also called a “hash”) instead of the authenticating key. The message digest is created using the key and a message, but the key itself is not sent, preventing the message from being read while the message is being transmitted. Plain text authentication sends an authenticating key over the wire.


          Note

          Plain text authentication is not recommended for use as part of your security strategy. Its primary use is to avoid accidental changes to the routing infrastructure. Using MD5 authentication, however, is a recommended security practice.

          In plain text authentication, each participating neighbor device must share an authenticating key. This key is specified at each device during configuration. Multiple keys can be specified with some protocols; each key must then be identified by a key number.

          In general, when a routing update is sent, the following authentication sequence occurs:

          1. A device sends a routing update with a key and the corresponding key number to the neighbor device. In protocols that can have only one key, the key number is always zero. The receiving (neighbor) device checks the received key against the same key stored in its own memory.
            1. If the two keys match, the receiving device accepts the routing update packet. If the two keys do not match, the routing update packet is rejected.

          Another form of neighbor device authentication is to configure key management using key chains. When you configure a key chain, you specify a series of keys with lifetimes, and the Cisco software checks each of these keys. This process decreases the likelihood that keys will be compromised. To find the complete configuration information for key chains, refer to the “Configuring IP Routing Protocol-Independent Features” module of the Cisco IOS IP Routing: Protocol-Independent Configuration Guide.

          How to Configure RIP

          Enabling RIP and Configuring RIP Parameters

          SUMMARY STEPS

            1.    enable

            2.    configure terminal

            3.    router rip

            4.    network ip-address

            5.    neighbor ip-address

            6.    offset-list [access-list-number | access-list-name] {in | out} offset [interface-type interface-number]

            7.    timers basic update invalid holddown flush [sleeptime]

            8.    end


          DETAILED STEPS
             Command or ActionPurpose
            Step 1 enable


            Example:
            Device> enable
             

            Enables privileged EXEC mode.

            • Enter your password if prompted.
             
            Step 2 configure terminal


            Example:
            Device# configure terminal
             

            Enters global configuration mode.

             
            Step 3 router rip


            Example:
            Device(config)# router rip
             

            Enables a RIP routing process and enters router configuration mode.

             
            Step 4 network ip-address


            Example:
            Device(config-router)# network 10.1.1.0
             

            Associates a network with a RIP routing process.

             
            Step 5 neighbor ip-address


            Example:
            Device(config-router)# neighbor 10.1.1.2
             

            Defines a neighboring device with which to exchange routing information.

             
            Step 6 offset-list [access-list-number | access-list-name] {in | out} offset [interface-type interface-number]


            Example:
            Device(config-router)# offset-list 98 in 1 Ethernet 1/0
             

            (Optional) Applies an offset list to routing metrics.

             
            Step 7 timers basic update invalid holddown flush [sleeptime]


            Example:
            Device(config-router)# timers basic 1 2 3 4
             

            (Optional) Adjusts routing protocol timers.

             
            Step 8 end


            Example:
            Device(config-router)# end
             

            Exits router configuration mode and returns to privileged EXEC mode.

             

            Specifying a RIP Version and Enabling Authentication

            SUMMARY STEPS

              1.    enable

              2.    configure terminal

              3.    router rip

              4.    version {1 | 2}

              5.    exit

              6.    interface type number

              7.    ip rip send version [1] [2]

              8.    ip rip receive version [1] [2]

              9.    ip rip authentication key-chain name-of-chain

              10.    ip rip authentication mode {text | md5}

              11.    end


            DETAILED STEPS
               Command or ActionPurpose
              Step 1 enable


              Example:
              Device> enable
               

              Enables privileged EXEC mode.

              • Enter your password if prompted.
               
              Step 2 configure terminal


              Example:
              Device# configure terminal
               

              Enters global configuration mode.

               
              Step 3 router rip


              Example:
              Device(config)# router rip
               

              Enters router configuration mode.

               
              Step 4 version {1 | 2}


              Example:
              Device(config-router)# version 2
               

              Enables the Cisco software to send only RIP Version 2 (RIPv2) packets.

               
              Step 5 exit


              Example:
              Device(config-router)# exit
               

              Exits the router configuration mode and enters the global configuration mode.

               
              Step 6 interface type number


              Example:
              Device(config)# interface Ethernet 3/0
               

              Specifies an interface and enters interface configuration mode.

               
              Step 7 ip rip send version [1] [2]


              Example:
              Device(config-if)# ip rip send version 2
               

              Configures an interface to send only RIPv2 packets.

               
              Step 8 ip rip receive version [1] [2]


              Example:
              Device(config-if)# ip rip receive version 2
               

              Configures an interface to accept only RIPv2 packets.

               
              Step 9 ip rip authentication key-chain name-of-chain


              Example:
              Device(config-if)# ip rip authentication key-chain chainname
               

              Enables RIP authentication.

               
              Step 10 ip rip authentication mode {text | md5}


              Example:
              Device(config-if)# ip rip authentication mode md5
               

              Configures the interface to use message digest algorithm 5 (MD5) authentication (or let it default to plain-text authentication).

               
              Step 11 end


              Example:
              Device(config-if)# end
               

              Exits interface configuration mode and returns to privileged EXEC mode.

               

              Managing Split Horizon

              SUMMARY STEPS

                1.    enable

                2.    configure terminal

                3.    interface type number

                4.    ip split-horizon

                5.    no ip split-horizon

                6.    end


              DETAILED STEPS
                 Command or ActionPurpose
                Step 1 enable


                Example:
                Device> enable
                 

                Enables privileged EXEC mode.

                • Enter your password if prompted.
                 
                Step 2 configure terminal


                Example:
                Device# configure terminal
                 

                Enters global configuration mode.

                 
                Step 3 interface type number


                Example:
                Device(config)# interface serial 0/0/0
                 

                Specifies an interface and enters interface configuration mode.

                 
                Step 4 ip split-horizon


                Example:
                Device(config-if)# ip split-horizon
                 

                Enables split horizon.

                 
                Step 5 no ip split-horizon


                Example:
                Device(config-if)# no ip split-horizon
                 

                Disables split horizon.

                 
                Step 6 end


                Example:
                Device(config-if)# end
                 

                Exits interface configuration mode and returns to privileged EXEC mode.

                 

                Disabling the Validation of Source IP Addresses


                Note

                We recommend that you do not change the state of the default configuration unless you are certain that your application requires making a change in the configuration to advertise routes properly. Remember that if split horizon is disabled on a serial interface (and that interface is attached to a packet-switched network), you must disable split horizon for all devices in any relevant multicast groups on that network.

                The summarized network will not be advertised when split horizon is enabled.

                SUMMARY STEPS

                  1.    enable

                  2.    configure terminal

                  3.    interface type number

                  4.    ip split-horizon

                  5.    exit

                  6.    router rip

                  7.    no validate-update-source

                  8.    end


                DETAILED STEPS
                   Command or ActionPurpose
                  Step 1 enable


                  Example:
                  Device> enable
                   

                  Enables privileged EXEC mode.

                  • Enter your password if prompted.
                   
                  Step 2 configure terminal


                  Example:
                  Device# configure terminal
                   

                  Enters global configuration mode.

                   
                  Step 3 interface type number


                  Example:
                  Device(config)# interface serial 0/0/0
                   

                  Enters interface configuration mode.

                   
                  Step 4 ip split-horizon


                  Example:
                  Device(config-if)# ip split-horizon
                   

                  Enables split horizon.

                   
                  Step 5 exit


                  Example:
                  Device(config-if)# exit
                   

                  Exits interface configuration mode.

                   
                  Step 6 router rip


                  Example:
                  Device(config)# router rip
                   

                  Enters router configuration mode.

                   
                  Step 7 no validate-update-source


                  Example:
                  Device(config-router)# no validate-update-source
                   

                  Disables the validation of the source IP address of incoming Routing Information Protocol (RIP) routing updates.

                   
                  Step 8 end


                  Example:
                  Device(config-router)# end
                   

                  Exits router configuration mode and returns to privileged EXEC mode.

                   

                  Configuration Examples for RIP

                  Example: Enabling RIP and Configuring RIP Parameters

                  Device> enable
Device# configure terminal
Device(config)# router rip
Device(config-router)# network 10.1.1.0
Device(config-router)# neighbor 10.1.1.2
Device(config-router)# offset-list 98 in 1 Ethernet 1/0
Device(config-router)# timers basic 1 2 3 4
Device(config-router)# end

                  Example: Specifying a RIP Version and Enabling Authentication

                  Device> enable
Device# configure terminal
Device(config)# router rip
Device(config-router)# version 2 
Device(config-router)# exit
Device(config)# interface Ethernet 3/0
Device(config-if)# ip rip send version 2
Device(config-if)# ip rip receive version 2
Device(config-if)# ip rip authentication key-chain chainname
Device(config-if)# ip rip authentication mode md5
Device(config-if)# end

                  Example: Managing Split Horizon

                  The following example shows how to disable split horizon on a serial link. In this example, the serial link is connected to an X.25 network. 

                  Device# configure terminal
Device(config)# interface Serial 0/0/0
Device(config-if)# no ip split-horizon
Device(config-if)# end

                  The figure below illustrates a typical situation in which the no ip split-horizon interface configuration command would be useful. This figure depicts two IP subnets that are both accessible via a serial interface on Device C that is connected to a Frame Relay network. In this example, the serial interface on Device C accommodates one of the subnets via the assignment of a secondary IP address.

                  The Gigabit Ethernet interfaces for Device A, Device B, and Device C (connected to IP networks 10.13.50.0, 10.155.120.0, and 10.20.40.0, respectively) have split horizon enabled by default, while the serial interfaces connected to networks 172.16.1.0 and 192.168.1.0 have split horizon disabled with the no ip split-horizon command. The figure below shows the topology and interfaces.

                  The following example shows how to disable split horizon on serial interfaces. Split horizon must be disabled on Device C for network 172.16.0.0 to be advertised into network 192.168.0.0 and vice versa. These subnets overlap at Device C, interface S0. If split horizon is enabled on serial interface S0, the interface would not advertise a route back into the Frame Relay network for either of these networks. 

                  ! Configuration for Device A
interface gigabitethernet 0/0/0
 ip address 10.13.50.1
!
interface serial 0/0/0
 ip address 172.16.2.2
 encapsulation frame-relay
 no ip split-horizon 

! Configuration for Device B
interface gigabitethernet 0/0/0
description - configuration for Device B
 ip address 10.155.120.1
!
interface serial 0/0/0
 ip address 192.168.1.2
 encapsulation frame-relay 
 no ip split-horizon

! Configuration for Device C
interface gigabitethernet 0/0/0
 ip address 10.20.40.1
!
interface serial serial 0/0/0
 ip address 172.16.1.1
 ip address 192.168.1.1 secondary
 encapsulation frame-relay 
 no ip split-horizon

                  Example: Disabling the Validation of Source IP Addresses

                  Device> enable
Device# configure terminal
Device(config)# interface serial 0/0/0
Device(config-if)# ip split-horizon
Device(config-if)# exit
Device(config)# router rip
Device(config-router)# no validate-update-source
Device(config-router)# end

                  Additional References for RIP

                  Related Documents

                  Related Topic

                  Document Title

                  Cisco IOS Commands

                  Cisco IOS Master Command List, All Releases

                  IP Routing: RIP commands

                  Cisco IOS IP Routing: RIP Command Reference

                  Standards and RFCs

                  Standards/RFC

                  Title

                  RFC 1058

                  Routing Information Protocol

                  RFC 2453

                  RIP Version 2

                  Technical Assistance

                  Description

                  Link

                  The Cisco Support and Documentation website provides online resources to download documentation, software, and tools. Use these resources to install and configure the software and to troubleshoot and resolve technical issues with Cisco products and technologies. Access to most tools on he Cisco Support and Documentation we site requires a Cisco.com user ID and password.

                  http:/​/​www.cisco.com/​cisco/​web/​support/​index.html

                  Feature Information for RIP

                  The following table provides release information about the feature or features described in this module. This table lists only the software release that introduced support for a given feature in a given software release train. Unless noted otherwise, subsequent releases of that software release train also support that feature.

                  Use Cisco Feature Navigator to find information about platform support and Cisco software image support. To access Cisco Feature Navigator, go to www.cisco.com/​go/​cfn. An account on Cisco.com is not required.

                  Table 1 Feature Information for RIP

                  Feature Name

                  Releases

                  Feature Information

                  RIP

                  Cisco IOS XE Release 2.6

                  Cisco IOS XE Release 3.2SE

                  RIP is a commonly used routing protocol in small to medium TCP/IP networks. RIP is a stable protocol that uses a distance-vector algorithm to calculate routes.