Introduction to routing / Introduction to routing

Introduction to Static Routing 

Introduction to routing 

6.1.1 

This page will describe routing and explain the differences between static and dynamic routing.
Routing is the process that a router uses to forward packets toward the destination network. A router makes decisions based upon the destination IP address of a packet. All devices along the way use the destination IP address to send the packet in the right direction to reach its destination. To make the correct decisions, routers must learn how to reach remote networks. When routers use dynamic routing, this information is learned from other routers. When static routing is used, a network administrator configures information about remote networks manually.
Since static routes are configured manually, network administrators must add and delete static routes to reflect any network topology changes. In a large network, the manual maintenance of routing tables could require a lot of administrative time. On small networks with few possible changes, static routes require very little maintenance. Static routing is not as scalable as dynamic routing because of the extra administrative requirements. Even in large networks, static routes that are intended to accomplish a specific purpose are often configured in conjunction with a dynamic routing protocol.
The next page will explain static route operations.