What is a Router Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

What is a Router - Essay Example The operating system of traditional routers was created to offer networking services like basic routing and switching functions, secure and reliable access to resource and computers in a network and offer network scalability. Packet forwarding is achieved by routers through a process called routing. There are two types of routing processes, static routing and dynamic routing. Static routing is done through manual configuration where network addresses, subnet masks, and IP addresses of the next hop router or exit interface are specified manually. It is used when a network only has few routers, and there is only one ISP connected to the Internet. Dynamic routing is where IP addresses are added to the routing table by use of dynamic routing protocols. Dynamic routing allows router to share information of their reachability and status of other remote networks. Dynamic routers allow for network discovery, maintaining and updating routing tables. The advantage of dynamic routing is that there is less administrative tasking when adding and deleting a network address and allows more scalability. Traditional routers only performed one function, and that is packets forwarding, but advancements in technology have allowed the routers to do more than that. Advanced routers today are built to include applications that perform functions that deal with firewalls, voice monitoring, voice gateways, encryption services and virtual private network concentration. Other service-integrated router by other technologies includes the juniper integrated service router like the MX Series 3D Universal edge router and T series IP/MPLS core. Cisco 2800 series, Cisco 400 series and the Cisco 800 series. Routers being used today are becoming more of complete computer than just routers for forwarding data packets. Routers are still routers despite the many functions they perform. This is because a routers default function is to create the