Determining route source and destination

Determining route source and destination 
9.1.3 This page will explain how a router chooses a path for packet delivery.
For traffic going through a network cloud, path determination occurs at the network layer. The path determination function enables a router to evaluate the available paths to a destination and to establish the preferred handling of a packet. Routing services use network topology information to evaluate network paths. This information can be configured by the network administrator or collected through dynamic processes that are used in the network.
The network layer provides best-effort, end-to-end, packet delivery across interconnected networks. The network layer uses the IP routing table to send packets from the source network to the destination network. After the router determines which path to use, it forwards the packet from one interface to the interface or port that leads to the destination.  
The next page will discuss Layer 2 and Layer 3 addresses.