Routers

• Where communication happens between two separate networks, a router is required to connect the networks. In your home network, the network access device (sometimes called the home hub) that is typically provided by your Internet Service Provider (ISP) will incorporate a router to connect your home network to that of the ISP.
• On the wider internet, core routers are used to forward packets to their destination along the backbone of the internet. These routers examine the destination of each packet and consult a routing table of known networks. The table indicates which connection is best to use to send the packet towards its intended destination.