What does it mean when it is said that the "maximum diameter of 15 hops" in RIP?

The phrase "maximum diameter of 15 hops" in relation to the Routing Information Protocol (RIP) indicates that any network that can be reached via the RIP routing protocol must not be more than 15 hops away from the originating router. In other words, the maximum distance a packet can travel through the network, represented by the number of routers it passes through, is limited to 15. If a network is more than 15 hops away, it is considered unreachable for the purposes of routing updates in RIP, leading to a metric of infinity.

This limitation was established to prevent routing loops and to ensure that the routing process remains efficient and manageable. If the network were to allow for more than 15 hops, it could potentially lead to excessive complexity in route calculation and increase the likelihood of routing errors.

Other options do not accurately reflect the meaning of the 15-hop limit in RIP. For instance, the notion of a single network being reachable in one hop represents a scenario of immediate connectivity, which does not encapsulate the broader definition of maximum hops. Similarly, stating that networks can only have 15 routers is misleading as there can be many routers in a network; it is the path or distance characterized by hops that is restricted. Lastly,