ZyXEL Communications 4528F User Manual

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XGS-4526/4528F/4728F User’s Guide
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 3 5  
Policy Routing
This chapter shows you how to configure policy routing rules.
35.1  Policy Route Overview 
Traditionally, routing is based on the destination address only and the Switch takes 
the shortest path to forward a packet. Policy routing provides a mechanism to 
override the default routing behavior and alter the packet forwarding based on the 
policy defined by the network administrator. Policy-based routing is applied to 
incoming packets prior to the normal routing.
Individual routing policies are used as part of the overall policy routing process. A 
routing policy defines the action to take when a packet meets the criteria in a 
specified classifier. The action is taken only when all the criteria are met.  
35.1.1  Benefits
• Source-Based Routing – Network administrators can use policy-based routing to 
direct traffic from different users through different connections.
• Cost Savings – Policy routing allows organizations to distribute interactive traffic 
on high-bandwidth, high-cost paths while using low-cost paths for batch traffic.
• Load Sharing – Network administrators can use policy routing to distribute 
traffic among multiple paths.