Avaya P460 Manuel D’Utilisation

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Avaya P460 Configuration Guide
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Chapter 5
Avaya P460 Layer 3 Features
Introduction
What is Routing?
Routing allows transfer of a data packet from source to destination by a device 
called a router. Routing involves two basic activities: determination of optimal 
routing paths and transmission of information packets through an internetwork.
Routers use routing tables to determine the routes to particular network 
destinations and, in some cases, metrics associated with those routes. Routers 
communicate with one another, and maintain their routing tables through the 
transmission of a variety of messages. Routers can only route a message that is 
transmitted by a routable protocol such as IP or IPX. Messages in non-routable 
protocols, such as NetBIOS and LAT, cannot be routed, but they can be transferred 
from LAN to LAN by a bridge.
The Routing Update Message is one such message. Routing Updates usually consist 
of all or a portion of a routing table. By analyzing Routing Updates from all routers, 
a router can build a detailed picture of network topology.
A Link-State Advertisement is another example of a message sent between routers. 
Link-State Advertisements inform other routers of the state of the sender's links. 
Link information can also be used to build a complete picture of the network's 
topology. Once the network topology is understood, routers can determine optimal 
routes to network destinations.
When a router receives a packet, it examines the packet's destination protocol 
address. The router then determines whether it knows how to forward the packet to 
the next hop. If the router does not know how to forward the packet, it usually 
drops the packet unless a default gateway is defined. If the router knows how to 
forward the packet, it changes the packet destination’s physical address to that of 
the next hop and transmits the packet.
The next hop might not be the ultimate destination host. If not, the next hop is 
usually another router, which executes the same switching decision process. While 
the packet moves through the internetwork, its physical address changes but its 
protocol address remains constant. This process is shown in Figure 5.1.