Observe the working of IP protocol.
Exploring the routing tables for different
routers.
A Router is a networking device that forwards data packets between
computer network. This device is usually connected to two or more different
networks. When a data packet comes to a router port, the router reads
address information in packet to determine out which port the packet will be
sent. For example, a router provides you with the internet access by
connecting your LAN with the Internet.
When a packet arrives at a
Router, it examines destination IP address of a received packet and make
routing decisions accordingly. Routers use Routing Tables to determine out
which interface the packet will be sent. A routing table lists all networks for
which routes are known. Each router’s routing table is unique and stored in
the RAM of the device. Routing Table: A routing table is a set of rules, often
viewed in table format, that is used to determine where data packets
traveling over an Internet Protocol (IP) network will be directed. All
IP-enabled devices, including routers and switches, use routing tables. See
below a Routing Table:
Destination Subnet mask Interface
[Link] [Link] Eth0
[Link] [Link] Eth1
[Link] [Link] Eth3
default Eth2
The entry corresponding to the default gateway configuration is a network
destination of [Link] with a network mask (netmask) of [Link]. The Subnet
Mask of default route is always [Link] . Entries of an IP Routing Table: A
routing table contains the information necessary to forward a packet along
the best path toward its destination. Each packet contains information about
its origin and destination. Routing Table provides the device with instructions
for sending the packet to the next hop on its route across the network. Each
entry in the routing table consists of the following entries:
1. Network ID: The network ID or destination corresponding to the
route.
2. Subnet Mask: The mask that is used to match a destination IP
address to the network ID.
3. Next Hop: The IP address to which the packet is forwarded
4. Outgoing Interface: Outgoing interface the packet should go out to
reach the destination network.
5. Metric: A common use of the metric is to indicate the minimum
number of hops (routers crossed) to the network ID.
Routing table entries can be used to store the following types of routes:
● Directly Attached Network IDs
● Remote Network IDs
● Host Routes
● Default Route
● Destination
When a router receives a packet, it examines the destination IP address, and
looks up into its Routing Table to figure out which interface packet will be
sent out.
How are Routing Tables populated? There are ways to maintain Routing
Table:
● Directly connected networks are added automatically.
● Using Static Routing.
● Using Dynamic Routing.
These Routing tables can be maintained manually or dynamically. In dynamic
routing, devices build and maintain their routing tables automatically by
using routing protocols to exchange information about the surrounding
network topology. Dynamic routing tables allow devices to “listen” to the
network and respond to occurrences like device failures and network
congestion. Tables for static network devices do not change unless a network
administrator manually changes them. Route Determination Process
(finding Subnet ID using Routing Table): Consider a network is subnetted
into 4 subnets as shown in the above picture. The IP Address of the 4
subnets are:
[Link] (Subnet a)
[Link] (Subnet b)
[Link] (Subnet c)
[Link] (Subnet d)
Then, Routing table maintained by the internal router looks like:
Destination Subnet Mask Interface
[Link] [Link] a
[Link] [Link] b
[Link] [Link] c
[Link] [Link] d
Default [Link] e
To find its right subnet (subnet ID), router performs the bitwise ANDing of
destination IP Address mentioned on the data packet and all the subnet
masks one by one.
● If there occurs only one match, router forwards the data packet on
the corresponding interface.
● If there occurs more than one match, router forwards the data
packet on the interface corresponding to the longest subnet mask.
● If there occurs no match, router forwards the data packet on the
interface corresponding to the default entry.
