What is the maximum hop count for routes learned through RIP?

RIP, or Routing Information Protocol, has a maximum hop count of 15. This means that any route that has a hop count of more than 15 is considered unreachable. The reasoning behind this limit is primarily due to the original design of RIP to support small to medium-sized networks, thus simplifying routing decisions and reducing the complexity of the protocol.

The hop count is a simple metric that RIP uses to determine the best path to a destination; each physical network segment counts as one hop. When a router receives a route update, it can easily compare the hop counts to determine the most efficient route. If a route has a hop count of 16, it is considered as having infinite distance and will not be used for routing, making it effectively unreachable.

This characteristic highlights the limitations of RIP when compared to more advanced routing protocols that can handle larger, more complex networks, where the maximum number of hops is a critical consideration for routing decisions.