How do Distance Vector routing protocols determine the best path?

Distance Vector routing protocols determine the best path by sharing distance and direction information among routers in the network. This method involves routers exchanging information about their local network segment's distance (typically measured in hops) and the direction to reach each destination. Each router maintains a table where it records the best-known distance to each destination based on the information received from its neighbors. As routers communicate with each other, they update their tables to reflect the shortest path to each destination.

This process is fundamental to how Distance Vector protocols operate, as they rely on periodic updates and the Bellman-Ford algorithm to calculate the best routes based on the least number of hops. The effectiveness of the routing decision hinges on each router’s understanding of both the cost associated with reaching a destination and the direction to send packets to reach other routers.

The other options do not accurately describe the fundamental operation of Distance Vector protocols. Analyzing network traffic is more relevant to performance monitoring than routing path determination. Encrypting routing data is not a characteristic of how Distance Vector protocols function, and calculating bandwidth usage relates more to network congestion management rather than route selection.