Router

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This article is about the computer networking device. For the rotating cutting tool, see Router
(woodworking). For the variety of network devices found in household network setups, see residential
gateway. For the software used in electronic design automation, see routing (electronic design
automation).

Cisco 1800 Router

Avaya ERS 8600

Cisco 7600 Series Multilayer Switches

A router is a device that interconnects two or more computer networks, and selectively interchanges
packets of data between them. Each data packet contains address information that a router can use to
determine if the source and destination are on the same network, or if the data packet must be transferred
from one network to another. Where multiple routers are used in a large collection of interconnected
networks, the routers exchange information about target system addresses, so that each router can build
up a table showing the preferred paths between any two systems on the interconnected networks.

A router is a networking device whose software and hardware are customized to the tasks
of routing and forwarding information. A router has two or more network interfaces, which may be to
different physical types of network (such as copper cables, fiber, or wireless) or different network
standards. Each network interface is a small computer specialized to convert electric signals from one form
to another.

Routers connect two or more logical subnets, which do not share a common network address. The subnets
in the router do not necessarily map one-to-one to the physical interfaces of the router.[1] The term "layer 3
switching" is used often interchangeably with the term "routing". The termswitching is generally used to
refer to data forwarding between two network devices that share a common network address. This is also
called layer 2 switching or LAN switching.

Conceptually, a router operates in two operational planes (or sub-systems):[2]

 Control plane: where a router builds a table (called routing table) as how a
packet should be forwarded through which interface, by using either
statically configured statements (called statical routes) or by exchanging
information with other routers in the network through a dynamical routing
protocol;

 Forwarding plane: where the router actually forwards traffic (called

packets in IP) from ingress (incoming) interfaces to an egress (outgoing)
interface that is appropriate for the destination address that the packet
 carries with it, by following rules derived from the routing table that has
been built in the control plane.
Contents
[hide]

• 1 Forwarding plane (a.k.a. data plane)

• 2 Types of routers

○ 2.1 Routers for Internet connectivity and

internal use

• 3 History

○ 3.1 Enterprise routers

 3.1.1 Access

 3.1.2 Distribution

 3.1.3 Core

• 4 Router Manufacturers

• 5 References

• 6 External links

[ edit]Forwarding plane (a.k.a. data plane)

Main article: Forwarding plane

For pure Internet Protocol (IP) forwarding function, a router is designed to minimize the state information on
individual packets. A router does not look into the actual data contents that the packet carries, but only at
the layer 3 addresses to make a forwarding decision, plus optionally other information in the header for hint
on, for example, QoS. Once a packet is forwarded, the router does not retain any historical information
about the packet, but the forwarding action can be collected into the statistical data, if so configured.

Forwarding decisions can involve decisions at layers other than the IP internetwork layer or OSI layer 3. A
function that forwards based on data link layer, or OSI layer 2, information, is properly called
a bridge or switch. This function is referred to as layer 2 switching, as the addresses it uses to forward the
traffic are layer 2 addresses in the OSI layer model.

Besides making decision as which interface a packet is forwarded to, which is handled primarily via the
routing table, a router also has to manage congestion, when packets arrive at a rate higher than the router
can process. Three policies commonly used in the Internet are tail drop, random early detection,
and weighted random early detection. Tail drop is the simplest and most easily implemented; the router
simply drops packets once the length of the queue exceeds the size of the buffers in the router. Random
early detection (RED) probabilistically drops datagrams early when the queue is about to exceed a pre-
configured size of the queue. Weighted random early detection requires a weight on the average queue
size to act upon when the traffic is about to exceed the pre-configured size, so that short bursts will not
trigger random drops.

Another function a router performs is to decide which packet should be processed first when multiple
queues exist. This is managed through QoS (Quality of Service), which is critical when VoIP (Voice over IP)
is deployed, so that delays between packets do not exceed 150ms to maintain the quality of voice
conversations.

Yet another function a router performs is called "policy based routing" where special rules are constructed
to override the rules derived from the routing table when packet forwarding decision is made.

These functions may or may not be performed through the same internal paths that the packets travel
inside the router. Some of the functions may be performed through an ASIC(application-specific integrated
circuit) to avoid overhead caused by multiple CPU cycles, and others may have to be performed through
the CPU as these packets need special attention that cannot be handled by an ASIC.

[ edit]Types of routers

A demonstration of a router forwarding information to many clients.

Routers may provide connectivity inside enterprises, between enterprises and the Internet, and
inside internet service providers (ISPs). The largest routers (for example the Cisco CRS-1 or Juniper
T1600) interconnect ISPs, are used inside ISPs, or may be used in very large enterprise networks. The
smallest routers provide connectivity for small and home offices.

[edit]Routers for Internet connectivity and internal use

Routers intended for ISP and major enterprise connectivity almost invariably exchange routing information
using the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP). RFC 4098[3] defines several types of BGP-speaking routers
according to the routers' functions:
 Edge Router: An ER is placed at the edge of an ISP network. The router
speaks external BGP (EBGP) to a BGP speaker in another provider or
large enterprise Autonomous System(AS). This type of routers is also
called PE (Provider Edge) routers.

 Subscriber Edge Router: An SER is located at the edge of the subscriber's

network, it speaks EBGP to its provider's AS(s). It belongs to an end user
(enterprise) organization. This type of routers is also called CE (Customer
Edge) routers.

 Inter-provider Border Router: Interconnecting ISPs, this is a BGP speaking

router that maintains BGP sessions with other BGP speaking routers in
other providers' ASes.

 Core router: A Core router is one that resides within an AS as back bone
to carry traffic between edge routers.

Within an ISP: Internal to the provider's AS, such a router speaks

internal BGP (IBGP) to that provider's edge routers, other intra-
provider core routers, or the provider's inter-provider border routers.

"Internet backbone:" The Internet does not have a clearly identifiable

backbone, as did its predecessors. See default-free zone (DFZ).
Nevertheless, it is the major ISPs' routers that make up what many
would consider the core. These ISPs operate all four types of the
BGP-speaking routers described here. In ISP usage, a "core" router is
internal to an ISP, and used to interconnect its edge and border
routers. Core routers may also have specialized functions in virtual
private networks based on a combination of BGP and Multi-Protocol
Label Switching (MPLS).[4]

Routers are also used for port forwarding for private servers.

[ edit]History
 Leonard Kleinrock and the first IMP.

A Cisco ASM/2-32EM router deployed atCERN in 1987.

The very first device that had fundamentally the same functionality as a
router does today, i.e a packet switch, was the Interface Message
Processor (IMP); IMPs were the devices that made up the ARPANET,
the first packet switching network. The idea for a router (although they
were called "gateways" at the time) initially came about through an
international group of computer networking researchers called the
International Network Working Group (INWG). Set up in 1972 as an
informal group to consider the technical issues involved in connecting
different networks, later that year it became a subcommittee of
the International Federation for Information Processing. [5]

These devices were different from most previous packet switches in two
ways. First, they connected dissimilar kinds of networks, such asserial
lines and local area networks. Second, they
were connectionless devices, which had no role in assuring that traffic
was delivered reliably, leaving that entirely to the hosts (although this
particular idea had been previously pioneered in
the CYCLADES network).

The idea was explored in more detail, with the intention to produce a real
prototype system, as part of two contemporaneous programs. One was
the initial DARPA-initiated program, which created
the TCP/IP architecture of today. [6] The other was a program at Xerox
PARC to explore new networking technologies, which produced
the PARC Universal Packet system, although due to corporate
intellectual property concerns it received little attention outside Xerox
until years later. [7]

The earliest Xerox routers came into operation sometime after early
1974. The first true IP router was developed by Virginia Strazisar
at BBN, as part of that DARPA-initiated effort, during 1975-1976. By the
end of 1976, three PDP-11-based routers were in service in the
experimental prototype Internet. [8]

The first multiprotocol routers were independently created by staff

researchers at MIT and Stanford in 1981; the Stanford router was done
byWilliam Yeager, and the MIT one by Noel Chiappa; both were also
based on PDP-11s. [9] [10] [11] [12]

As virtually all networking now uses IP at the network layer, multiprotocol

routers are largely obsolete, although they were important in the early
stages of the growth of computer networking, when several protocols
other than TCP/IP were in widespread use. Routers that handle both
IPv4 and IPv6 arguably are multiprotocol, but in a far less variable sense
than a router that processed AppleTalk, DECnet, IP, and Xerox
protocols.

In the original era of routing (from the mid-1970s through the 1980s),
general-purpose mini-computers served as routers. Although general-
purpose computers can perform routing, modern high-speed routers are
highly specialized computers, generally with extra hardware added to
accelerate both common routing functions such as packet forwarding
and specialised functions such as IPsec encryption.
Still, there is substantial use of Linux and Unix machines, running open
source routing code, for routing research and selected other
applications. While Cisco's operating system was independently
designed, other major router operating systems, such as those
from Juniper Networks and Extreme Networks, are extensively modified
but still have Unix ancestry.

[edit]Enterprise routers
All sizes of routers may be found inside enterprises. The most powerful
routers tend to be found in ISPs and academic & research facilities.
Large businesses may also need powerful routers.

A three-layer model is in common use, not all of which need be present

in smaller networks.[13]

[edit]Access

Access routers, including SOHO, are located at customer sites such as

branch offices that do not need hierarchical routing of their own.
Typically, they are optimized for low cost.

[edit]Distribution

Distribution routers aggregate traffic from multiple access routers, either

at the same site, or to collect the data streams from multiple sites to a
major enterprise location. Distribution routers often are responsible for
enforcing quality of service across a WAN, so they may have
considerable memory, multiple WAN interfaces, and substantial
processing intelligence.

They may also provide connectivity to groups of servers or to external

networks. In the latter application, the router's functionality must be
carefully considered as part of the overall security architecture. Separate
from the router may be a firewall or VPN concentrator, or the router may
include these and other security functions.

When an enterprise is primarily on one campus, there may not be a

distinct distribution tier, other than perhaps off-campus access. In such
cases, the access routers, connected to LANs, interconnect via core
routers.

[edit]Core

In enterprises, a core router may provide a "collapsed backbone"

interconnecting the distribution tier routers from multiple buildings of a
campus, or large enterprise locations. They tend to be optimized for high
bandwidth.

When an enterprise is widely distributed with no central location(s), the

function of core routing may be subsumed by the WAN service to which
the enterprise subscribes, and the distribution routers become the
highest tier.

[ edit]Router Manufacturers
The major router manufacturers include:

 Cisco Systems

 D-link

 Juniper Networks

 Avaya

 Brocade

 Alcatel-Lucent

 Fujitsu

 Huawei

 ZTE

 Extreme Networks

 UTStarcom

 Netgear

 ZyXEL

[ edit]References
1. ^ Requirements for IPv4 Routers,RFC 1812, F. Baker, June 1995

2. ^ Requirements for Separation of IP Control and Forwarding,RFC

3654, H. Khosravi & T. Anderson, November 2003

3. ^ Terminology for Benchmarking BGP Device Convergence in the

Control Plane,RFC 4098, H. Berkowitz et al.,June 2005

4. ^ BGP/MPLS VPNs,RFC 2547, E. Rosen and Y. Rekhter, April

2004

5. ^ Davies, Shanks, Heart, Barker, Despres, Detwiler, and Riml,

"Report of Subgroup 1 on Communication System", INWG Note #1.
 6. ^ Vinton Cerf, Robert Kahn, "A Protocol for Packet Network
Intercommunication", IEEE Transactions on Communications,

Volume 22, Issue 5, May 1974, pp. 637 - 648.

7. ^ David Boggs, John Shoch, Edward Taft, Robert Metcalfe, "Pup:

An Internetwork Architecture", IEEE Transactions on

Communications, Volume 28, Issue 4, April 1980, pp. 612- 624.

8. ^ Craig Partridge, S. Blumenthal, "Data networking at BBN"; IEEE

Annals of the History of Computing, Volume 28, Issue 1; January-

March 2006.

9. ^ Valley of the Nerds: Who Really Invented the Multiprotocol

Router, and Why Should We Care?, Public Broadcasting Service,

Accessed August 11, 2007.

10. ^ Router Man, NetworkWorld, Accessed June 22, 2007.

11. ^ David D. Clark, "M.I.T. Campus Network Implementation",

CCNG-2, Campus Computer Network Group, M.I.T., Cambridge,

1982; pp. 26.

12. ^ Pete Carey, "A Start-Up's True Tale: Often-told story of Cisco's
launch leaves out the drama, intrigue", San Jose Mercury News,

December 1, 2001.

13. ^ Oppenheimer, Pr (2004). Top-Down Network Design.

Indianapolis: Cisco Press. ISBN 1587051524.

[ edit]External links
Wikimedia Commons has
media related to: Network
routers

Wikibooks has a book on the

topic of

Computer
Networks/Routing

Look
up router in Wiktionary, the
free dictionary.

 Internet Engineering Task Force, the Routing Area

  Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers

 North American Network Operators Group

 Réseaux IP Européens (European IP Networks)

 American Registry for Internet Numbers

 Asia-Pacific Network Information Center

 Latin American Network Information Center

 African Region Internet Registry

 Wireless Network Switching Subsystem

 Network router cheat sheet

Categories: Internet architecture | Routers | Hardware

routers | Networking hardware | Server appliance

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