5.1 Starting and Stopping ripd

The default configuration file name of ripd's is `ripd.conf'. When invocation ripd searches directory /usr/local/etc. If `ripd.conf' is not there next search current directory.

RIP uses UDP port 521 to send and receive RIP packets. So the user must have the capability to bind the port, generally this means that the user must have superuser privileges. RIP protocol requires interface information maintained by zebra daemon. So running zebra is mandatory to run ripd. Thus minimum sequence for running RIP is like below:

# zebra -d # ripd -d

Please note that zebra must be invoked before ripd.

To stop ripd. Please use kill `cat /var/run/ripd.pid`. Certain signals have special meaningss to ripd.

`SIGHUP'

Reload configuration file `ripd.conf'. All configurations are reseted. All routes learned so far are cleared and removed from routing table.

`SIGUSR1'

Rotate ripd logfile.

`SIGINT'

`SIGTERM'

ripd sweeps all installed RIP routes then terminates properly.

ripd invocation options. Common options that can be specified (see section 3.2 Common Invocation Options).

`-r'

`--retain'

When the program terminates, retain routes added by ripd.

5.1.1 RIP netmask