Networking Fundamentals

Distance vector protocols

A distance vector protocol is one that calculates the best route for the data to be transmitted, purely based on how many routers or hops the data has to travel through to get to the final destination. The term can be broken down into two components—distance and vector.

Distance is the metric (that is, the number of hops) it uses to determine the path; vector indicates the direction of travel—that is, which interface the data will be sent through. Routers utilizing a distance vector protocol exchange information about the finished routes only. You can refer to the tracert activity that we carried out in Chapter 3, Understanding Wide Area Networks, and have reproduced the following for ease:

Activity 2:

1. Open Command ...