what is router in networking

what is router in networking

A router is a network device which is used to communicate two or more networks with each other (similar networks, similar protocols) and forwards packets from one network to another network. All routers include some kind of user interface for configuring how the router will treat traffic. A simple way to think of a router is as a computer that can be programmed to understand, possibly manipulate, and route the data it‟s being asked to handle. Once a router has identified the best route for a packet to travel, it passes the packet along the appropriate network to another router. A router operates in the physical, data link and the network layer of the OSI model .It can be used to link two dissimilar LANs. A router isolates LANs into subnets to manage and control network traffic. However, unlike bridges it is not transparent to end stations. A schematic diagram of the router is shown in the following figure. A router has four basic components: Input ports, output ports, the routing processor and the switching fabric.

Routers include some kind of user interface for configuring how the router will treat traffic.

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