Content

| 5.2 |  | EIGRP Features |
| 5.2.3 |  | Reliable transport protocol |

Reliable Transport Protocol (RTP) is a proprietary transport-layer protocol that can guarantee ordered delivery of EIGRP packets to all neighbors. On an IP network, hosts use TCP to sequence packets and ensure their timely delivery. However, EIGRP is protocol-independent. Therefore, EIGRP does not rely on TCP/IP to exchange routing information the way that RIP, IGRP, and OSPF do. To stay independent of IP, EIGRP uses its own proprietary transport-layer protocol, Reliable Transport Protocol (RTP) to guarantee delivery of routing information.

EIGRP can call on RTP to provide reliable or unreliable service as the situation warrants. For example, hello packets do not require the overhead of reliable delivery because they are frequent and should be kept small. The reliable delivery of other routing information can actually speed convergence because EIGRP routers are not waiting for a timer to expire before they retransmit.

With RTP, EIGRP can multicast and unicast to different peers simultaneously, allowing for maximum efficiency.

| Interactive Media Activity Checkbox: Reliable Transport Protocol Upon completion of this activity, the student will be able to identify the operation of RTP.