How does Routing Information Protocol (RIP) resolve the count-to-infinity problem?

The count-to-infinity problem in dynamic routing protocols like Routing Information Protocol (RIP) occurs when routes become unstable due to incremental updates that lead to incorrect distance metric calculations. Among the methods employed to mitigate this issue, hop-count limits stand out, as they directly place restrictions on the maximum number of hops a route can take.

RIP uses a maximum hop count of 15 to determine the reachability of a destination. If a route exceeds this limit, it is considered unreachable (with a hop count of 16). This prevents the count from continuously incrementing and heading towards infinity. By capping the hop count, RIP effectively isolates the potentially endless updates that could loop back to themselves, thereby stabilizing the network and reducing unnecessary processing by routers.

While features such as split horizon, holddown timers, and poison reverse also play roles in improving the stability of RIP and reducing routing loops, they address different aspects of routing issues rather than specifically countering the count-to-infinity problem. In contrast, the hop-count limit is a fundamental part of RIP's design to deal directly with its core challenge - the prevention of indefinite route count scenarios.