Learning Log 6 (Weeks 11 & 12)

It's been a while since we have started the first term as strangers to this new place we call 'Networking'. Days, weeks, even months have passed and so are the things we used to do. We started from the very bottom, and now, we are at the verge of concluding this subject with only one lecture remaining on hand. After thirteen weeks, we have learn several networking concepts from topologies, network architecture components, domains, network devices, protocols etc. For the final round, here comes RIP (Routing Information Protocol) to close in the regulation. Basically, it is a protocol that exchanges information between network devices within a network. It uses hop count as a routing metric. This refers to the number of devices that the information will travel through before it reaches its final destination. Generally, higher hop count results to slower performance. Also, RIP uses different timers namely: Update, Hold-down, Flush and Timeout. By default, update timers lasts for 30 seconds. Invalid or timeout timers indicates how long the information can be retained in the routing table without being updated. It is set to 180 seconds or 3 minutes by default. The flush timer on the other hand specifies the time between when the information is marked as invalidated or unreachable and when it will be subjected to removal. It is set to 240 seconds or 4 minutes which is 1 minute longer than the invalid timers. Lastly, for Hold-down timers, it blocks any updating in order to give way towards stabilizing the router. Normally, it is set to 180 seconds or 3 minutes.