There are many key structures and performance-related characteristics referred to when discussing networks: topology, speed, cost, security, availability, scalability, and reliability.
Cisco routers and Cisco switches have many similarities. They support a similar modal operating system, similar command structures, and many of the same commands. One distinguishing feature between switches and routers is the type of interfaces supported by each. Once an interface is configured on both devices, the appropriate show commands need to be used to verify a working interface.
The main purpose of a router is to connect multiple networks and forward packets from one network to the next. This means that a router typically has multiple interfaces. Each interface is a member or host on a different IP network.
Cisco IOS uses what is known as the administrative distance (AD) to determine the route to install into the IP routing table. The routing table is a list of networks the router knows. The routing table includes network addresses for its own interfaces, which are the directly connected networks, as well as network addresses for remote networks. A remote network is a network that can only be reached by forwarding the packet to another router.
Remote networks are added to the routing table in two ways: either by the network administrator manually configuring static routes or by implementing a dynamic routing protocol. Static routes do not have as much overhead as dynamic routing protocols; however, static routes can require more maintenance if the topology is constantly changing or is unstable.
Dynamic routing protocols automatically adjust to changes without intervention from the network administrator. Dynamic routing protocols require more CPU processing and use a certain amount of link capacity for routing updates and messages. In many cases, a routing table will contain both static and dynamic routes.
Routers make their primary forwarding decision at Layer 3, the network layer. However, router interfaces participate in Layers 1, 2, and 3. Layer 3 IP packets are encapsulated into a Layer 2 data link frame and encoded into bits at Layer 1. Router interfaces participate in Layer 2 processes associated with their encapsulation. For example, an Ethernet interface on a router participates in the ARP process like other hosts on that LAN.
The Cisco IP routing table is not a flat database. The routing table is actually a hierarchical structure that is used to speed up the lookup process when locating routes and forwarding packets.
Components of the IPv6 routing table are similar to the IPv4 routing table. For instance, it is populated using directly connected interfaces, static routes, and dynamically learned routes.