IP routing

Process used to determine which path a packet or datagram can be sent IP routing is the application of traffic routing methodologies to IP networks. This involves technologies, protocols, structure, administrations, and policies of the worldwide Internet infrastructure. In each IP network node, IP routing involves the determination of a suitable path for a network packet from a source to its destination. The process uses rules, obtained from either static configuration or dynamically with routing protocols, to select specific packet forwarding methods to direct traffic to the next available intermediate network node one hop closer to the desired final destination. The total path potentially spans multiple computer networks. Networks are separated from each other by specialized hosts, called gateways or routers with specialized software support optimized for routing. IP forwarding algorithms in most routing software determine a route through a shortest path algorithm. In routers, packets arriving at an interface are examined for source and destination addressing and queued to the appropriate outgoing interface according to their destination address and a set of rules and performance