Wikipedia
A routing protocol specifies how routers communicate with each other to distribute information that enables them to select routes between nodes on a computer network Routers perform the traffic directing functions on the Internet data packets are forwarded through the networks of the internet from router to router until they reach their destination computer Routing algorithms determine the specific choice of route Each router has a prior knowledge only of networks attached to it directly A routing protocol shares this information first among immediate neighbors, and then throughout the network This way, routers gain knowledge of the topology of the network
Routing protocol - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia