The Routing Information Protocol (RIP) is a distance-vector routing protocol which uses the hop count as a routing metric. RIP prevents routing loops by limiting the number of hops allowed — (15) in a path from the source to a destination. This hop limit, however, also limits the size of networks that RIP can support. A hop count of 16 is considered an infinite distance and used to indicate inaccessible, inoperable, or otherwise undesirable routes in the selection process.