Cisco Router
Essentially, a router is a device that routes or forwards data from one network to another based on their IP address. When a data packet is received from the router, the router inspects the data’s IP address and determines if the packet was meant for its own network or if it’s meant for another network. If the router determines that the data packet is meant for its own network, it receives it. But if it’s not meant for its own network, it sends it off to another network. So a router is essentially the gateway of a network. A router is considered a layer-3 device and the main purpose of a that is to connect multiple networks and forward packets destined either for directly-attached networks or more remote networks.
When multiple routers are used in interconnected networks, the routers can exchange information about destination addresses using a routing protocol. Each router builds up a routing table listing the preferred routes between any two computer systems on the interconnected networks.
A Router consists of two types of network element components organized onto separate processing planes: Data plane which is responsible for forwarding data packets between incoming and outgoing interface connections, and Control plane which n strips non-essential directives from the routing table and builds a forwarding information base (FIB) to be used by the data plane.
The main purpose of the router is maintaining connectivity between different. Although, todays enhanced and innovated routers can provide IPS and firewall features on the network. Almost, these advanced features required specific cisco router license to be activated.
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