Chapter 3 Advanced Routing : Dynamic Routing Overview : Comparison of dynamic routing protocols : Features of dynamic routing protocols
  
Features of dynamic routing protocols
Each protocol is better suited for some situations over others.
Choosing the best dynamic routing protocol depends on the size of your network, speed of convergence required, the level of network maintenance resources available, what protocols the networks you connect to are using, and so on. For more information on these dynamic routing protocols, see “Routing Information Protocol (RIP)”, “Border Gateway Protocol (BGP)”, “Open Shortest Path First (OSPF)”, and “Intermediate System to Intermediate System Protocol (IS-IS)”.
Table 6: Comparing RIP, BGP, and OSPF dynamic routing protocols 
Protocol
RIP
BGP
OSPF / IS-IS
Routing algorithm
Distance Vector, basic
Distance Vector, advanced
Link-state
Common uses
Small non-complex networks
Network backbone, ties multinational offices together
Common in large, complex enterprise networks
Strengths
Fast and simple to implement
Near universal support
Good when no redundant paths
Graceful restart
BFD support
Only needed on border routers
Summarize routes
Fast convergence
Robust
Little management overhead
No hop count limitation
Scalable
Weakness
Frequent updates can flood network
Slow convergence
Maximum 15 hops may limit network configuration
Required full mesh in large networks can cause floods
Route flap
Load-balance multi-homed networks
Not available on low-end routers
Complex
No support for unequal cost multipath routing
Route summary can require network changes
Authentication
Optional authentication using text string or MD5 password.
(RIP v1 has no authentication)
IPv6 Support
Only in RIPng
Only in BGP4+
Only in OSPF6 / Integrated IS-IS