Distance Vector

Key Characteristics

• • Route Advertisement: Routers exchange their full routing tables with adjacent routers at regular intervals (e.g., every 30 seconds for RIPv1/RIPv2).
  • Metric-Based: The "distance" or cost to a destination is typically measured in hop count, making simpler path decisions.
  • "Routing by Rumor": Each router trusts the routing information received from its neighbors without having a complete topological view of the network.
  • Slow Convergence: Can be slow to adapt to network topology changes and is susceptible to routing loops, especially during network failures (the "count-to-infinity" problem).
  • Simplicity: Relatively simple to configure and understand compared to more complex protocols like OSPF.
  • Limited Scalability: Due to its reliance on periodic full table exchanges and hop count limitations (e.g., 15 hops for RIP), it is not well-suited for large, complex enterprise z/OS networks.

Use Cases

• • Small, Simple Networks: May be found in isolated, smaller z/OS network segments or lab environments where network topology is stable and not complex.
  • Legacy Configurations: Could exist in older z/OS network setups that have not been migrated to more modern routing protocols.
  • Backup Routing: Potentially used as a very basic backup routing mechanism in specific, controlled scenarios, though this is rare in production.
  • Educational Purposes: Useful for understanding fundamental dynamic routing concepts in a z/OS networking curriculum.

Related Concepts