Network Router
In packet-switched
networks such as the Internet, a router is a device or, in some cases,
software in a computer, that determines the next network point to which a
packet should be forwarded toward its destination.
A router may create or maintain a table of the available routes and their conditions and use this information along with distance and cost algorithms to determine the best route for a given packet. Typically, a packet may travel through a number of network points with routers before arriving at its destination. Routing is a function associated with the Network layer (layer 3) in the standard model of network programming, the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model. A layer-3 switch is a switch that can perform routing functions.
An edge router is a router that interfaces with an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) network. A brouter is a network bridge combined with a router.
For home and business computer users who have high-speed Internet
connections such as cable, satellite, or DSL, a router can act as a
hardware firewall.
This is true even if the home or business has only one computer. Many
engineers believe that the use of a router provides better protection
against hacking than a software firewall, because no computer Internet
Protocol address are directly exposed to the Internet. This makes port scans
(a technique for exploring weaknesses) essentially impossible. In
addition, a router does not consume computer resources as a software
firewall does. Commercially manufactured routers are easy to install,
reasonably priced, and available for hard-wired or wireless networks.
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