Routers and routing concepts
Network routers are essential networking devices that play a crucial role in IT infrastructure and networks. Routers operate at the network layer (Layer 3) of the OSI model and are responsible for forwarding data packets, based on the optimal path selected, between different networks or subnets.
Routers perform traffic directing by connecting dissimilar networks together via the routing process. For example, look at the following diagram – on the left of the router exists the 12.11.0.0/24 network, and on the right exists the 5.18.0.0/24 network (these IP addresses and networks are used for illustration purposes only):
Figure 6.21 – Simple routed network
Under normal operational conditions, these end devices will not be able to communicate with one another as the devices are not on the same network segment. A network router is utilized to perform routing functions to allow these end devices to communicate with...
