Which Type of Routing Protocol Operates by Exchanging the Entire Routing Information?

A

The correct answer is B. link state protocols.

Link state protocols, such as OSPF (Open Shortest Path First) and IS-IS (Intermediate System-to-Intermediate System), operate by exchanging the entire routing information within a network. These protocols create a detailed map of the network topology by sharing information about individual network links, including their status and cost.

When a link state protocol starts up, each router within the network creates a database of all the links it is connected to, including the link's cost or metric. The router then floods this information to all other routers within the network. Each router then uses this information to build a complete picture of the network topology and determine the best path to each network destination.

Link state protocols provide several advantages over distance vector protocols, including faster convergence times, greater scalability, and better support for hierarchical network design. However, they require more processing power and memory than distance vector protocols and are more complex to configure.

Distance vector protocols, such as RIP (Routing Information Protocol) and EIGRP (Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol), operate by exchanging routing updates that contain only the distance or cost to a particular destination network. Each router in the network maintains a table of all the known network destinations and their associated costs. These tables are periodically updated as new routing information is received.

Distance vector protocols are simpler to configure than link state protocols, but they have several limitations, including slower convergence times and poor scalability in large networks.

Path vector protocols, such as BGP (Border Gateway Protocol), are used to route traffic between different autonomous systems (ASes) on the Internet. Path vector protocols differ from distance vector and link state protocols in that they exchange information about the entire path to a network destination, rather than just the cost or metric.

Exterior gateway protocols, such as BGP, are used to route traffic between different ASes and are typically used by Internet service providers (ISPs) to connect their networks to the Internet backbone. These protocols are designed to handle very large networks and support complex routing policies, such as traffic engineering and policy-based routing.