3com 6000 User Manual

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Hops to Network — Provides the number of routers that must be crossed 
to reach the network segment.

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 — Provides an estimate of the time necessary to reach 

the destination segment.

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Node —

 The node address of the router that can forward packets to each 

segment. When set to all zeroes, the route is directly connected.

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Aging Timer — The time since the network’s last update.

Figure 5-4 shows a typical example of a routing information table.

Figure 5-4   Routing Table Example

The routing information table is generated and updated as follows:

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Statically — You manually enter routes, which do not change until you 
change them (they do not time out).

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Dynamically — The router uses RIP to exchange information. Routes are 
recalculated at regular intervals.

Static Routes.  A static route is one you manually configure in the routing 
table. Static routes are useful in environments where no routing protocol is 
used, or where you want to override some of the routes generated with a 
routing protocol. Because static routes do not automatically change in 
response to network topology changes, you should only manually configure 
a small number of reasonably stable routes.

Dynamic Routes Using RIP.  Automated methods of learning routes help 
you keep up with a changing network environment, allowing routes to be 
reconfigured quickly and reliably. Interior Gateway Protocols (IGP), protocols 
that operate within intranetworks, provide this automated method. The 

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