Final answer:
Distance vector routing protocols share routing updates with directly connected neighbors rather than flooding the entire network. These protocols periodically update routing tables based on metrics like hop count, bandwidth, delay, and reliability.
Step-by-step explanation:
Distance vector routing protocols operate by having routers send copies of their routing tables to their directly connected neighbors. Unlike some other routing protocols, distance vector protocols do not flood the entire network with routing updates. Instead, these updates are shared between neighbors, and then each router individually updates its own table based on the information received. While hop count can be used as a metric, it is not the only metric used; other metrics such as bandwidth, delay, and reliability can also influence the routing decisions. Importantly, distance vector protocols do not only send out updates when a new network is added; they send out periodic updates to maintain the integrity of the network paths.