RIP Protocol configuration Guide with Examples

RIP (Routing Information Protocol) is one of the earliest and most straightforward distance-vector routing protocols. It uses hop count as the metric. This tutorial explains how to configure, test, and verify it on a network.

Lab setup

A lab is optional. You can skip it if you need only configuration steps and commands. However, if you are learning this concept for any certification exam, this lab is essential. You can use real devices or a network simulation software to set up this lab. Packet Tracer is a network simulation software. This tutorial uses Packet Tracer. It also provides download links for the lab used in this tutorial at various configuration levels. These labs allow you to cross-verify your configuration as you follow this tutorial.

Create a practice lab as shown in the following image, or download the following prebuilt lab.

Download RIP Practice Topology

Initial IP configuration

Device	Interface	IP Configuration	Connected with
PC0	Fast Ethernet	10.0.0.2/8	Router0’s Fa0/1
Router0	Fa0/1	10.0.0.1/8	PC0’s Fast Ethernet
Router0	S0/0/1	192.168.1.254/30	Router2’s S0/0/1
Router0	S0/0/0	192.168.1.249/30	Router1’s S0/0/0
Router1	S0/0/0	192.168.1.250/30	Router0’s S0/0/0
Router1	S0/0/1	192.168.1.246/30	Router2’s S0/0/0
Router2	S0/0/0	192.168.1.245/30	Router1’s S0/0/1
Router2	S0/0/1	192.168.1.253/30	Router0’s S0/0/1
Router2	Fa0/1	20.0.0.1/30	PC1’s Fast Ethernet
PC1	Fast Ethernet	20.0.0.2/30	Router2’s Fa0/1

Assigning IP addresses to PCs

Click PC0, click Desktop, click IP Configuration, and assign IP address 10.0.0.2/8.

Repeat this process for PC1 and assign the IP address 20.0.0.2/8.

Assigning IP addresses to router interfaces

Access the CLI prompt of Router0.

Run the following commands.

Router>enable
Router#configure terminal
Router(config)#interface FastEthernet 0/0
Router(config-if)#ip address 10.0.0.1 255.0.0.0
Router(config-if)#no shutdown
Router(config-if)#exit
Router(config)#

The first command enters Privilege Exec mode.
The second command enters Global configuration mode.
The third command enters Interface configuration mode of the FastEthernet 0/0 interface.
The fourth command assigns the IP address 10.0.0.1 to the interface.
The sixth command starts the interface.
The seventh command exits Interface configuration mode.

A serial interface needs two more parameters: clock rate and bandwidth. A serial cable has two ends: DCE and DTE. You need to configure these parameters only on the DCE side. To check which side of the cable is attached to the interface, run the show controllers [interface] command in Privilege Exec mode. The output of this command shows the cable type attached to it. If the output of this command shows the cable type DCE, configure these parameters.

Router#show controllers serial 0/0/0
Interface Serial0/0/0
Hardware is PowerQUICC MPC860
DCE V.35, clock rate 2000000
[Output omitted]
Router#configure terminal
Router(config)#interface serial 0/0/0
Router(config-if)#ip address 192.168.1.249 255.255.255.252
Router(config-if)#clock rate 64000
Router(config-if)#bandwidth 64
Router(config-if)#no shutdown
Router(config-if)#exit
Router(config)#interface serial 0/0/1
Router(config-if)#ip address 192.168.1.254 255.255.255.252
Router(config-if)#clock rate 64000
Router(config-if)#bandwidth 64
Router(config-if)#no shutdown
Router(config-if)#exit
Router(config)#

Router1

The following commands assign IP addresses to Router1's interfaces.

Router>enable
Router#configure terminal
Enter configuration commands, one per line.  End with CNTL/Z.
Router(config)#interface serial 0/0/0
Router(config-if)#ip address 192.168.1.250 255.255.255.252
Router(config-if)#no shutdown
Router(config-if)#exit
Router(config)#interface serial 0/0/1
Router(config-if)#ip address 192.168.1.246 255.255.255.252
Router(config-if)#clock rate 64000
Router(config-if)#bandwidth 64
Router(config-if)#no shutdown
Router(config-if)#exit

Router2

Use the following commands to configure IP addresses on Router2 interfaces.

Router>enable
Router#configure terminal
Enter configuration commands, one per line.  End with CNTL/Z.
Router(config)#interface fastEthernet 0/0
Router(config-if)#ip address 20.0.0.1 255.0.0.0
Router(config-if)#no shutdown
Router(config-if)#exit
Router(config)#interface serial 0/0/0
Router(config-if)#ip address 192.168.1.245 255.255.255.252
Router(config-if)#no shutdown
Router(config-if)#exit
Router(config)#interface serial 0/0/1
Router(config-if)#ip address 192.168.1.253 255.255.255.252
Router(config-if)#no shutdown
Router(config)#

The following link provides this lab with the above IP configurations.

Practice lab with the IP configurations

Configuring the RIP routing protocol

Configuring the RIP protocol is straightforward and involves just two steps:

Enable the RIP routing protocol from Global configuration mode.
Provide the networks that you want RIP to advertise.

The router rip command enables the RIP routing protocol on the router. The network command specifies which networks to advertise.

Router0

Router0(config)#router rip
Router0(config-router)#network 10.0.0.0
Router0(config-router)#network 192.168.1.252
Router0(config-router)#network 192.168.1.248

Router1

Router1(config)#router rip
Router1(config-router)#network 192.168.1.244
Router1(config-router)#network 192.168.1.248

Router2

Router2(config)#router rip
Router2(config-router)#network 20.0.0.0
Router2(config-router)#network 192.168.1.252
Router2(config-router)#network 192.168.1.244

Verifying RIP routing

To verify the configuration, you can use the ping command. The ping command lets you test connectivity between the source and destination. Open the command prompt on PC1 and send ping requests to PC0. Reply messages confirm connectivity and RIP routing.

The following link provides this lab with the above configurations.

Practice lab with RIP routing

Managing network changes

RIP dynamically manages all routes. If a route goes down, RIP switches to an alternative route. This network has two routes between PC0 and PC1.

Route 1

PC0 [Source / destination – 10.0.0.2] <==> Router0 [FastEthernet0/1 – 10.0.0.1] <==> Router0 [Serial0/0/1 – 192.168.1.254] <==> Router2 [Serial 0/0/1 – 192.168.1.253] <==> Router2 [FastEthernet0/0 – 20.0.0.1] <==> PC1 [Destination /source – 20.0.0.2]

Route 2

PC0 [Source / destination – 10.0.0.2] <==> Router0 [FastEthernet0/1 – 10.0.0.1] <==> Router0 [Serial0/0/0 – 192.168.1.249] <==> Router1 [Serial 0/0/0 – 192.168.1.250] <==> Router1 [Serial 0/0/1 – 192.168.1.246] <==> Router2 [Serial 0/0/0 – 192.168.1.245] <==> Router2 [FastEthernet0/0 – 20.0.0.1] <==> PC1 [Destination /source – 20.0.0.2]

RIP selects the route with the lowest hop count between the source and destination. In this network, route 1 has the lowest hop count and will be chosen. You can use the tracert command to verify this selection.

Remove the serial cable that connects the serial interface s0/0/1 of Router 0 to the serial interface s0/0/1 of Router 2.

If an alternative route is available, RIP will automatically replace the primary route with it in the routing table. Use the tracert command again to verify it.

RIP configuration commands summary

Command	Description
Router(config)#router rip	Enable RIP routing protocol.
Router(config-router)#network a.b.c.d	Add a.b.c.d network in RIP routing advertisement.
Router(config-router)#no network a.b.c.d	Remove a.b.c.d network from RIP routing advertisement.
Router(config-router)#version 1	Enable RIP routing protocol version one ( default).
Router(config-router)#version 2	Enable RIP routing protocol version two.
Router(config-router)#no auto-summary	By default, RIPv2 automatically summarizes networks at their default classful boundaries. This command will turn it off.
Router(config-router)#passive-interface s0/0/0	RIP will not broadcast routing updates from this interface.
Router(config-router)#no ip split-horizon	Disable split horizon ( Enable by default ).
Router(config-router)#ip split-horizon	Enable split horizon.
Router(config-router)#timers basic 30 90 180 270 360	Allow us to set RIP timer in seconds. 30 (routing update), 90 (invalid timer), 180 ( Hold timer), 270 (Flush timer), 360 (sleep timer).
Router(config)#no router rip	Disable RIP routing protocol.
Router#debug ip rip	Used for troubleshooting. Allow us to view all RIP-related activity in real time.
Router#show ip rip database	Display RIP database including routes.

This tutorial is part of the tutorial series "RIP (Routing Information Protocol) Features, Functions, and Configurations Explained". Other parts of this series are the following.
Chapter 1  How RIP Routing works
Chapter 2  RIP – Routing Information Protocol Explained
Chapter 3  RIP Routing features and functions
Chapter 4  Routing Loops Explained with Examples
Chapter 5  Split Horizon Explained with Examples
Chapter 6  Infinity Metric and Route Poisoning Explained
Chapter 7  RIP Protocol Configuration Guide with Examples

Conclusion

In summary, configuring RIP routing in a Cisco network is straightforward, enhancing network resilience and enabling dynamic route management. By following the steps outlined in this tutorial, you have learned how to set up RIP, verify connectivity, and observe how RIP adapts to network changes. Mastering these fundamentals prepares you to implement more advanced routing protocols and manage real-world network environments with confidence.

Author Laxmi Goswami Updated on 2026-01-01