Configuring IP Routing in Our Network

Our network is good to go—right? After all, it’s been correctly configured with IP addressing, administrative functions, and even clocking (automatically on the ISR routers). But how does a router send packets to remote networks when the only way it can send them is by looking at the routing table to find out how to get to the remote networks? Our configured routers only have information about directly connected networks in each routing table. And what happens when a router receives a packet for a network that isn’t listed in the routing table? It doesn’t send a broadcast looking for the remote network—the router just discards it. Period.

So we’re not exactly ready to rock after all. But no worries—there are several ways to configure the routing tables to include all the networks in our little internetwork so that packets will be forwarded. And what’s best for one network isn’t necessarily what’s best for another. Understanding the different types of routing will really help you come up with the best solution for your specific environment and business requirements.