Upgrading and Repairing Networks (5th Edition)

2017-07-07 02:10:07

SOME OF THE MAIN TOPICS IN THIS CHAPTER ARE

Basic Types of Routing Protocols 636

Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) 643

Routers are devices that examine Network layer protocol addresses and make decisions based on those addresses on how best to send a network packet on its way to its destination. Routers can be used in a corporate network to interconnect various LAN segments, to connect to a wide area network (WAN)for connecting branch offices to the headquarters, other companies or business units for exampleor, more commonly, to connect a local network to the Internet.

	Routers also play an important part in firewalls, which are covered in Chapter 45, "Firewalls."

However, to make decisions on the best path a packet needs to take as it travels through the network, a router must keep a table in memory that it can use to locate the destination network for each packet that passes through it. Using the table, the router can find the interface in which the remote network is connected and send it out that interface. Because routers generally are used to connect many different networks, and because networks usually undergo changes frequently, there must be a method for keeping the routing table up-to-date. Network transport protocols (such as TCP/IP) are used to transfer data across a network. Routers use routing protocols to communicate with other routers to exchange information, such as routes or routes that no longer exist.

Chapter 24, "Overview of the TCP/IP Protocol Suite," not only gives you a detailed overview of TCP/IP, but also contains a great deal of information about address classes, subnet masks, subnetting, and the Classless Interdomain Routing (CIDR), among other basic TCP/IP topics. I strongly recommend that you read Chapter 24 before this one to make it easier for you to comprehend the topics covered here.

For example, suppose that an important router suddenly fails. All other routers that have this router in their routing table need to know this so that they can discover another route, if there is one, that can be used to bypass this failed device. Routing protocols come in all sizes and shapes, but all generally perform the same function: keeping routing tables up-to-date.

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