General Question

round_pie's avatar

What is the function of a router?

Asked by round_pie (90points) January 17th, 2008

What does a router do, exactly?

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2 Answers

segdeha's avatar

A router, as its name implies, routes network traffic between an outward facing link and 1 or several machines connected to it. This allows multiple machines to share one network connection. The router keeps track of which packets are meant for which machine and passes them through to the appropriate port.

A router is different than a switch or a modem, although many modems contain routers and switches. :-)

boffin's avatar

Oh…and I was going to give a “wood working” answer…Plunge or straight line…

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