What does EIGRP stand for?

EIGRP stands for Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol. It is a Cisco proprietary routing protocol that is designed to facilitate efficient and effective routing within an autonomous system. EIGRP is considered an advanced distance-vector routing protocol that includes features from both distance-vector and link-state protocols, which allows it to provide rapid convergence and scalability.

The term "Interior" in its name signifies that it operates within a single autonomous system, as opposed to "Exterior" protocols, which manage routing between different autonomous systems. Enhanced indicates that it includes improvements over earlier routing protocols such as IGRP (Interior Gateway Routing Protocol).

Understanding EIGRP's role and functionality is crucial as it allows for optimized routing decisions based on various metrics, including bandwidth, delay, reliability, and load. This contributes to maintaining efficient communication in larger networks, making it a vital concept in networking courses and certifications.