When multiple routers are used in interconnected networks, the routers exchange information about destination addresses, using

a dynamic routing protocol. Each router builds up a table listing the preferred routes between any two systems on the interconnected networks

A router has interfaces for different physical types of network connections, (such as copper cables, fiber optic, or wireless transmission). It also contains firmware for different networking protocol standards. Each network interface uses this specialized computer software to enable data packets to be forwarded from one protocol transmission system to another.

 A router has two stages of operation called planes:

o Control plane: A router records a routing table listing what

route should be used to forward a data packet, and through which physical interface connection. It does this using internal pre-configured addresses, called static routes.
o Forwarding plane: The router forwards data packets between

incoming and outgoing interface connections. It routes it to the correct network type using information that the packet header contains. It uses data recorded in the routing table control plane.

 Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) is used when an IP

host has a known destination IP address (Layer 3) and it needs to retrieve the corresponding Layer 2 physical address from the destination host
The ARP cache is used to further reduce the need for

broadcasts by storing the IP-to- physical mapping in memory for a specified duration

The ARP Process:

Client A sends out an ARP broadcast
All clients receive and process the broadcast frame but

only Machine B responds

Client A receives the response and places Machine Bs

MAC address in its ARP cache

 Protocol is used to exchange information between

routers about the current state of the network Purpose of routing protocols is to build a routing table with the best routes Routing protocols are categorized into two types:
Distance Vector Link State

 Distance vector routing protocols are simple and easy

to configure. In this protocol, as the name implies, each node maintains a vector (table) of minimum distance to every node The protocol is based on calculating the direction and distance to any link in a network. The cost of reaching a destination is calculated using various route metrics. Metric refers to the method or measurement used by the routing protocol logic to determine the best path to a given network

 The basic concept of link-state routing is that every node

constructs a map of the connectivity to the network, in the form of a graph, showing which nodes are connected to which other nodes. Each node then independently calculates the next best logical path from it to every possible destination in the network. The collection of best paths will then form the node's routing table. This contrasts with distance-vector routing protocols, which work by having each node share its routing table with its neighbors. In a link-state protocol the only information passed between nodes is connectivity related.