248 PART II Core Protocols ROUTER ACCESS Users don't generally communicate directly with routers, but rather through routers. The situation is different for network administrators and managers, however, who must communicate directly with the individual routers in order to install, configure, and manage the routers. Routers are key devices on the Internet and almost any type of network. Many backbone routers handle packets for hundreds or thousands of users, and some handle packets for even more. So when a router goes down, or even slows down due to con- gestion or a problem, the users go wild and the network managers react immediately. For this reason, network managers need multiple and foolproof ways to access the rout- ers they are responsible for in order to manage them. Larger routers, and many smaller ones, do not normally come with a keyboard, mouse, and monitor. Nevertheless, there are usually three ways that a network admin- istrator can communicate with a router. The Console Port