RIP and OSPF, two forms of dynamic routing, offer more scalability than static routing protocols and the capacity to dynamically respond to networks topological changes, such as a failing element, reconfiguring traffic through other channels with minimal impact. OSPF is the most extensively used IGP for big industrial networks, whilst RIP is among the earliest routing protocols in use.
RIP vs OSPF
The main difference between RIP and OSPF is that the RIP protocol is suitable for small, non-hierarchical networks, whilst the OSPF protocol is excellent for large, hierarchical industrial networks. OSPF is perhaps the most widely used IGP for large industrial networks, while RIP was one of the first routing protocols to be implemented.
RIP is a distance-vector protocol that broadcasts regular network updates; RIP broadcasts every 30 seconds, and it, too, initiates updates when the network changes. It calculates the routing metric, which defines the optimum path to reach a system, using hop counts. The maximum number of routers supported by RIP is 15, and the 16th hop is regarded as inaccessible or unsharable.
OSPF is widely used for an Interior Gateway Protocol. It creates a topology map of a system after receiving information from accessible routers. OSPF communicates with networks in the very same autonomous system via areas; first, they build neighbor relationships with routers in the same autonomous system. Each area should be connected to a backbone area, referred to known as “area 0,” either virtually or physically. The routing table, neighbor table, and database table are all maintained by OSPF.
Comparison Table Between RIP and OSPF
| Parameters of Comparison | RIP | OSPF |
| Full Forms | RIP basically refers to Routing Information Protocol. | On the other hand, OSPF stands for Open Shortest Path First. |
| Part of Class | RIP is a classic example of Distance vector routing protocols along with EIGRP. | OSPF is a perfect example of a Link State routing protocol. |
| Construction of Network | The router combines the routing tables of surrounding devices to create its own routing table, which it sends out at regular intervals to surrounding devices. | The router centralizes the routing table by receiving the data it needs from surrounding devices; it never obtains the whole routing table. |
| Classification of Network | The networks in RIP are divided into two categories: areas and tables. | Regions, sub-areas, autonomous systems, and core areas are all network protocols in OSPF. |
| Requirement of Resource | The entire routing table is sent, which consumes a lot of bandwidth. | Only little updates are given, as opposed to RIP. |
What is RIP?
For local area networks, RIP (Routing Information Protocol) is an instance of distance vector routing. Every 30 seconds, RIP sends the entire routing table to all active interfaces. Hop count is the single statistic used in the RIP protocols to determine the best route to a remote network. Let’s look at an example of how the RIP protocol works: Assume there are two ways from the Origin to destination. Because Path 2 has fewer hops, it is obvious that it will be chosen by the RIP protocol.
Because it transmits updates every 30 seconds, RIP can cause traffic congestion. Because any RIP routing update consumes a lot of bandwidth, the resources available for important IT tasks are constrained. Because RIP’s hop counts are capped at 15, any router beyond that range is deemed infinity and thus unreachable. Convergence takes a lot more time to succeed.
When a link is down, finding alternatives routes takes a long time. Multiple pathways on the same route are not supported by RIP, which may result in extra routing loops. When comparing routes based on the data, RIP backfires when utilizing fixed hop count criteria to choose the best routes.
What is OSPF?
In large industrial systems, the link-state routing algorithm OSPF (Open Shortest Path First) is extensively utilized. The OSPF routing protocol takes position information from network routers and uses it to generate routing table data for packet forwarding.
This is accomplished by constructing a network topology map. Unlike RIP, OSPF only shares periodic routing once the network topology changes. The OSPF protocol is best suited for complicated networks with several subnets that need to be managed and traffic optimized. When a change happens, it determines the shortest route with the least amount of network traffic.
Routers can generate routes associated with the input requests using the SPF routing protocol, which has comprehensive knowledge of network topology. Unlike the RIP protocol, which has a maximum of 15 hops, the OSPF protocol has no such restriction. As a result, OSPF works better and also has a superior routing protocol than RIP. OSPF multicasts connection changes and only transmits them whenever there is a networking update.
The OSPF protocol necessitates a high level of understanding of complicated networks, making it more difficult to learn than other protocols. When many routers are connected to the system, OSPF networking does not scale. OSPF is inadequate for routing around the Internet due to its lack of scalability.
Main Differences Between RIP and OSPF
- RIP basically refers to Routing Information Protocol. On the other hand, OSPF stands for Open Shortest Path First.
- RIP is a classic example of Distance vector routing protocols along with EIGRP. OSPF is a perfect example of a Link State routing protocol.
- In the case of RIP, the router combines the routing tables of surrounding devices to create its own routing table, which it sends out at regular intervals to surrounding devices. In OSPF, the router centralizes the routing table just by receiving the data it needs from surrounding devices; it never obtains the whole routing table.
- The networks in RIP are divided into two categories: areas and tables, whereas Regions, sub-areas, autonomous systems, and core areas are all network protocols in OSPF.
- The entire routing table is sent, which consumes a lot of bandwidth in RIP. On the other hand, in OSPF, only little updates are given, as opposed to RIP.
Conclusion
At classful networking, RIP employs auto summation. However, in OSPF, we use manual summarising. Thus we don’t have to issue orders for auto summarising. While RIP employs hop counts to derive metric values, OSPF selects the optimum path that uses the SPF (Shortest Path First) algorithm. Because RIP transmits regular reports, it consumes a lot of bandwidth, whereas OSPF just broadcasts changes in a network.
References
- https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/7193275
- https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/5474509