Network Layer Services Routing and Forwarding

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We will try to understand Network Layer Services Routing and Forwarding in this class.

The other design principles like packetizing have already been discussed in our previous class.

Network routing is the process of selecting a path across one or more networks.

Forwarding is the action applied by each router when a packet arrives at one of its interfaces.

To understand this better, consider the image shown below.

In the above image, all the networks are connected to the routers.

If Computer A wants to communicate with Computer B, it has to take a path so that the communication should be fast.

The router will run some routing algorithms to find the distance between all the possible paths to have faster communication.

The outcome of those routing algorithms will generate the forwarding table or routing table.

The forwarding table will decide which interface must be selected for the data to be transmitted to the destination.

In the above diagram, the shortest path is 6.

To transmit the data to B, it has to take Interface I1. This information is stored in the forwarding table.