Routing Information Protocol; Ip Addresses And The Internet - NETGEAR RT338 Reference Manual

Routing Information Protocol

One of the protocols used by a router to build and maintain a picture of the network is the Routing
Information Protocol (RIP). Using RIP, routers update one another periodically and check if there
are changes to be added to the routing table. The Model RT338 router supports both the older
RIP-1 and the newer RIP-2 protocols. Among other improvements, RIP-2 supports subnet and
multicast protocols. RIP is not required for most home applications.

IP Addresses and the Internet

Because TCP/IP networks are interconnected widely across the world, every computer on the
Internet must have a unique address to make sure that transmitted data reaches the correct
destination. Blocks of addresses are assigned to organizations by the Internet Assigned Numbers
Authority (IANA). Individual users and small organizations may obtain their addresses from
IANA or from an Internet service provider (ISP).
The Internet Protocol (IP) uses a 32-bit address structure. The address is usually written in dot
notation, which is also called dotted-decimal notation. Each group of eight bits is written in
decimal form, separated by decimal points. For example, the binary address:
11000011 00100010
is normally written as:
195.34.12.7
which is easier to remember and easier to enter into your computer.
The 32 bits of the address are subdivided into two parts. The first part of the address identifies the
network. The second part of the address identifies the host node or station on the network.
The dividing point may vary depending on the address range and the application.
Introduction
Reference Guide for the Model RT338 ISDN Router
00001100 00000111
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