How to Configure Cisco Router for RIPv2? RIPv2 is a routing protocol that sends Multicast broadcasts instead of Broadcasts. Multicast broadcasts help different subnets communicate with each other by finding the most optimal path. The advantages of using RIPv2 with Cisco Switch in a network structure are that it is easy to implement and useful for small networks. It reduces and prevents broadcast traffic, minimizes memory consumption, and reduces CPU load due to fewer query messages. However, RIPv2 has its disadvantages; it lacks scalability for large and very large networks, so it is not recommended for large network configurations. It can have a maximum of 15 hops, and if the network has more than 15 devices, the protocol will give an “unreachable route” error. RIPv2 has a long recovery time, delaying the reconfiguration of changing topology and causing undesirable loops in the network.
Cisco Configure RIPv2:
Based on the example network diagram, we have a network structure, and we want to establish communication between computers located in different locations. This configuration example is done using Cisco Packet Tracer, and the IP addresses for PCs are manually assigned in the diagram. Let’s start by configuring IP addresses and RIP settings for the routers.
Router 1 Port IP Configuration:
For Router 1 (R1), the gig0/0/0 interface has an IP address of 192.168.2.1 with a Subnet Mask of 255.255.255.128. The Se0/1/0 serial interface has an IP address of 10.1.1.0 with a Subnet Mask of 255.255.255.252. Let’s define these IP addresses for the respective interfaces.
- Router>enable
- Router#configure terminal
- Router(config)#interface gigabitEthernet 0/0/0
- Router(config-if)#ip address 192.168.2.1 255.255.255.128
- Router(config-if)#no shutdown
- Router(config-if)#exit
- Router(config)#interface serial 0/1/0
- Router(config-if)#ip address 10.1.1.1 255.255.255.252
- Router(config-if)#no shutdown
- Router(config-if)#end
- Router#write
Router 2 Port IP Configuration:
Now, let’s move on to the configuration of Router 2 on the right side. According to the example diagram, for R2, the IP address is 10.1.1.2, and the Subnet Mask is 255.255.255.252. The serial port connection has an IP address of 10.1.1.2 with a Subnet Mask of 255.255.255.252. Let’s define these IP addresses for the respective interfaces.
- Router>enable
- Router#configure terminal
- Router(config)#interface gigabitEthernet 0/0/1
- Router(config-if)#ip address 192.168.3.1 255.255.255.0
- Router(config-if)#no shutdown
- Router(config-if)#exit
- Router(config)#interface serial 0/1/0
- Router(config-if)#ip address 10.1.1.2 255.255.255.252
- Router(config-if)#no shutdown
- Router(config-if)#end
- Router#write
After configuring the gigabitEthernet and serial interfaces for both routers, you can check the interface configuration using the “show ip interface brief” command. Now, let’s ping from PC1 and PC2 to test the communication. When you ping the Router 1 configuration, you will see that there is communication. However, you cannot ping from these PCs to the Router 2 configuration. To enable communication between the different locations, we need to configure RIPv2 on the routers.
Router 1 Enabling RIPv2:
- Router>enable
- Router#configure terminal
- Router(config)#router rip
- Router(config-router)#version 2
- Router(config-router)#network 10.1.1.0 (defining the serial IP block for RIP)
- Router(config-router)#network 192.168.2.0 (defining the gigabitEthernet IP block for RIP)
- Router(config-router)#end
- Router#write
Router 2 Enabling RIPv2:
Enter the same configurations for Router 2.
- Router>enable
- Router#configure terminal
- Router(config)#router rip
- Router(config-router)#version 2
- Router(config-router)#network 10.1.1.0
- Router(config-router)#network 192.168.3.0
- Router(config-router)#end
- Router#write
After these configurations, both computers in different locations can communicate through pings. If you enter the “debug ip rip” command on the router devices, you will see that ripV2 routing updates are made with the 224.0.09 multicast address.
