Hop count

In telecommunication, the term hop count has the following meanings:

1. In a data communications network, the number of legs traversed by a packet between its source and destination.

Note: Hop count may be used to determine the time-to-live for some packets.

2. The number of signal regenerating devices (such as repeaters, bridges, routers, and gateways) through which data must pass to reach their destination.

Source: from Federal Standard 1037C