User's Manual

SPEEDLAN 9000 Series Installation and Operation User Guide Version 3.03
Basics of IP Addressing 9-13
Basics of Routing
A router connects two or more networks together and decides which direction it should
send each packet. The router is located at each gateway (where one network meets
another). A router operates at the Network Layer of the OSI model. This means a router
sends information based on the packet's IP address instead of the Ethernet address (as
in bridging).
Routing protocols use special metric algorithms when determining the best path for a
packet to travel. All of this information is stored in a routing table. Some of this
information includes hop count and destination information. The routing table also
stores when the receiver gets the packet and lets the sender know that is was received.
Note: For more information about routing, see www.whatis.com, http://
www.techweb.com/encyclopedia/, http://www.computeruser.com/resources/
dictionary/dictionary.html, or search for "basics of routing" on the World Wide Web.