Routing Table

IT 위키

Routing Table is a data structure used by routers to store and manage route information. It determines the best path for forwarding packets to their destination. Each entry in a routing table corresponds to a specific destination network and includes information about the next hop, metrics, and routing protocol.

Overview[편집 | 원본 편집]

The routing table is a fundamental component of the control plane in a network. It is built and maintained by routing protocols or through manual configuration. Routers use the routing table to make forwarding decisions and update the forwarding table in the data plane.

Structure[편집 | 원본 편집]

A typical routing table contains the following fields:

  • Destination Network: The IP address range or subnet for the route.
  • Subnet Mask: Specifies the size of the destination network.
  • Next Hop: The IP address of the next router or device along the path.
  • Metric: A value representing the cost of the route (e.g., hop count, delay, bandwidth).
  • Interface: The local network interface to use for forwarding packets.
  • Routing Protocol: Indicates the protocol (e.g., OSPF, BGP) that added the route.

Example Routing Table:

Destination Network Subnet Mask Next Hop Metric Interface Protocol
192.168.1.0 255.255.255.0 10.0.0.1 1 eth0 OSPF
10.0.0.0 255.0.0.0 10.0.1.1 10 eth1 BGP
0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 192.168.1.254 5 eth0 Static

Types of Routes[편집 | 원본 편집]

Routing tables include different types of routes based on how they are learned:

  • Static Routes: Manually configured by network administrators.
  • Dynamic Routes: Automatically learned and updated using routing protocols (e.g., RIP, OSPF, BGP).
  • Default Routes: Used when no specific match is found in the routing table; often represented as 0.0.0.0/0.
  • Connected Routes: Directly connected networks that the router is aware of.

How It Works[편집 | 원본 편집]

  1. When a packet arrives, the router examines its destination IP address.
  2. The router searches the routing table for the most specific matching route using techniques like Longest Prefix Matching.
  3. Once a match is found, the packet is forwarded to the next hop or local interface specified in the route.

Dynamic Routing Protocols[편집 | 원본 편집]

Routing tables are dynamically populated and maintained by various protocols:

  • RIP (Routing Information Protocol): Uses hop count as a metric.
  • OSPF (Open Shortest Path First): Calculates the shortest path using Dijkstra's algorithm.
  • BGP (Border Gateway Protocol): Exchanges routing information across autonomous systems.
  • EIGRP (Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol): Uses a composite metric of bandwidth and delay.

Applications[편집 | 원본 편집]

  • Enterprise Networks: Routing tables guide traffic between different subnets and external networks.
  • Service Providers: Manage large-scale routing across wide-area networks.
  • Data Centers: Used to ensure efficient routing in complex, multi-tier architectures.

Advantages[편집 | 원본 편집]

  • Provides efficient and automated routing decisions.
  • Adapts dynamically to network changes using routing protocols.
  • Scalable for networks of varying sizes and complexities.

Limitations[편집 | 원본 편집]

  • Large routing tables can consume significant memory and CPU resources.
  • Incorrect routing table entries can lead to routing loops or blackholes.
  • Static routes require manual updates, which can be error-prone in dynamic networks.

See Also[편집 | 원본 편집]