LinkMAX
HSA300 User Manual
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11
Configuring the Routing Information Protocol
HSA300 can be configured to communicate with other routing
devices to determine the best path for sending data to its intended
destination. Routing devices communicate this information using a
variety of IP protocols. This chapter describes how to configure
HSA300 to use one of these, called the Routing Information
Protocol (RIP).
RIP Overview
RIP is an Internet protocol you can set up to share routing table
information with other routing devices on your LAN, at your ISP’s
location, or on remote networks connected to your network via the
ADSL line. Generally, RIP is used to enable communication on
autonomous
networks. An autonomous network is one in which all
of the computers are administered by the same entity. An
autonomous network may be a single network, or a grouping of
several networks under the same administration. An example of an
autonomous network is a corporate LAN, including devices that can
access it from remote locations, such as the computers
telecommuters use.
Using RIP, each device sends its routing table to its closest
neighbor every 30 seconds. The neighboring device in turn passes
the information on to its next neighbor and so on until all devices in
the autonomous network have the same set of routes.
When should you configure RIP?
Most small home or office networks do not need to use RIP; they
have only one router, such as HSA300, and one path to an ISP. In
these cases, there is no need to share routes, because all Internet
data from the network is sent to the same ISP gateway.
You may want to configure RIP if any of the following circumstances
apply to your network:
!
Your home network setup includes an additional router or
RIP-enabled PC (other than HSA300). HSA300 and the
router will need to communicate via RIP to share their
routing tables.
!
Your network connects via the ADSL line to a remote
network, such as a corporate network. In order for your
LAN to learn the routes used within your corporate network,
they should
both
be configured with RIP.
!
Your ISP requests that you run RIP for communication with
devices on their network.
