Hundreds of network protocols have been created to support communication between computers and other types of electronic devices. Routing protocols are the family of network protocols that allow computer routers to communicate with each other and in turn intelligently forward traffic between their respective networks.

Every network routing protocol performs three basic functions:

Some routing protocols (called link-state protocols) allow a router to create and maintain a complete map of all network connections in a region, while other protocols (called distance-vector protocols) allow routers to operate with less information about the network area.

The network protocols described below allow computer routers to communicate with each other while forwarding traffic between networks. They are among the most widely used protocols.