1. Describe the process of network routing. Routing is the process of moving packets across a network from one host to another. It is usually performed by dedicated devices called routers.
Packets are the fundamental unit of information transport in all modern computer networks, and increasingly in other communications networks as well. They are transmitted over packet switched networks, which are networks on which each message (i.e., data that is transmitted) is cut up into a set of small segments prior to transmission. Each packet is then transmitted individually and can follow the same path or a different path to the common destination. Once all of the packets have arrived at the destination, they are automatically reassembled to recreate the original message. What OSI layer does a router work on? 3 or network. What type of address does a router use? IP address
2. What is a router hop? In computer networking, a hop is one portion of the path between source and destination. Data packets pass through bridges, routers and gateways on the way. Each time packets are passed to the next device, a hop occurs. Which protocol uses router hops? Routing Information Protocol (RIP). What is the maximum number of hops allowed? This limits the number of hops allowed in a path from source to destination. The maximum is 15, and 16 is deemed unreachable. The hop-count limit prevents routing loops from continuing indefinitely. Although, IGRP will route IP, IPX, Decnet and AppleTalk which makes it very versatile for clients running many different protocols. It is somewhat more scalable than RIP since it supports a hop count of 100, only advertises every 90 seconds and uses a composite of five different metrics to select a best path destination.
3. What is a 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.
4. Discuss the difference between static routing and dynamic routing. Static routing is when you statically configure a router to send traffic for particular destinations in preconfigured directions. Dynamic routing is when you use a routing protocol such as OSPF, ISIS, EIGRP, and/or BGP to figure out what paths traffic should take.
5. Discuss the routing metrics use for path selection. A typical network will use a dynamic protocol such as OSPF to determine the best routes within an enterprise, BGP to determine the best exit points to the rest of the Internet, and static routing to glue it all together with reasonable default routes, and to send specific traffic over specific paths for traffic engineering reasons.
6. What are the differences between a distance vector routing protocol and a link state routing protocol? List an example of each type of protocol. Distance vector protocols use a distance calculation plus an outgoing network interface (a vector) to choose the best path to a destination network. The network protocol (IPX, SPX, IP, Appletalk, DECnet etc.) will forward data using the best paths selected. IP RIP. Link State protocols track the status and connection type of each link and produces a calculated metric based on these and other factors, including some set by the network administrator. Link state protocols know whether a link is up or down and how fast it is and calculates a cost to 'get there'. Since routers run routing protocols to figure out how to get to a destination, you can think of the 'link states' as being the status of the interfaces on the router. Link State protocols will take a path which has more hops, but that uses a faster medium over a path using a slower medium with fewer hops. Link-state routing protocols, such as OSPF and IS-IS, create a topology of the network and place themselves at the root of the tree. Link-state protocols implement an algorithm called the shortest path first (SPF, also known as Dijkstra's Algorithm) to determine the path to a remote destination.
7. What routing problems does a link state routing protocol solve? See answer in number 6.
8. How can routing be considered a key component of network security? These devices usually have built-in firewalls, network address translation (NAT), and other features that can help keep your network better protected against hackers.