Simulation-Based Performance Evaluation of Layer 3 Routing Protocols: RIP, EIGRP, and OSPF

Abstract

The choice of routing protocols greatly influences the functioning of today's IP networks. This paper is an empirical, simulation-based study of three Interior Gateway Protocols (IGP) that are run in Cisco Packet Tracer: Routing Information Protocol (RIP), Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP), and Open Shortest Path First (OSPF). Four important performance metrics — Packet Loss Ratio (PLR), Packet Delivery Ratio (PDR), end-to-end throughput and convergence time — were quantified using ten standardised test scenarios per protocol. Results of the experiments show that EIGRP provides the best throughput (65.54 Mbps) and convergence (1.2–2.5 s), while OSPF provides good reliability and is vendor-neutral and scalable. The weakest performances are found in RIP with regard to all the dimensions measured. These outcomes are relevant to the selection of protocols in enterprise and campus network deployments and can serve as evidence.