Routing Basics

Routing is the process of selecting the best path for data to travel from one network to another using routers.

• Connect different networks
• Enable Internet access
• Control traffic flow
• Improve scalability

A router is a Layer 3 device that forwards packets based on destination IP addresses.

A routing table contains information about destination networks and the next hop used to reach them.

Static routes are manually configured routes. They are simple but not scalable for large networks.

Dynamic routing uses routing protocols to automatically learn and update routes when network changes occur.