Without safeguards, distance vector protocols can count to infinity. If Router A loses its route to network X, Router B might still advertise X. Router A accepts B's route, B accepts A's updated route, and costs spiral upward.
RIP prevents this with:
Split Horizon: Never advertise a route back to the neighbor you learned it from.
Poison Reverse: When a route fails, advertise it with metric (infinity) instead of just stopping.
Triggered Updates: Send updates immediately when topology changes, don't wait for the timer.
These mechanisms help, but RIP still converges slowly. The -hop limit also caps infinity at .