Distance Vector Protocols

Distance vector protocols determine the path of other networks using the hop count a packet takes across the network. If network A was 3 hops away and network B was next to network A, then we assume it must be 4 hops away. In distance vector protocols, the next route would be the one with the least amount of hops.

Distance vector protocols are great for small networks, when networks start to scale it takes longer for the routers to converge because it periodically sends the entire routing table out to every router. Another downside to distance vector protocols is efficiency, it chooses routes that are closer in hops, but it may not always choose the most efficient route.

One of the common distance vector protocols is RIP (Routing Information Protocol), it broadcasts the routing table to every router in the network every 30 seconds. For a large network, this can take some serious juice to pull off, because of that RIP limits it's hop count to 15.