IP Addressing and Routing
Addressing entails the assignment of IP addresses and associated parameters to host interfaces, and the division of the address space into networks and subnetworks, involving the designation of network or routing prefixes. IP routing is performed by all hosts, but most importantly by routers, which transport packets across network boundaries. Routers communicate with one another via specially designed routing protocols, either interior gateway protocols or exterior gateway protocols as needed for the topology of the network.
IP routing is also common in local networks. For example, many Ethernet switches support IP multicast operations. These switches use IP addresses and Internet Group Management Protocol for control of the multicast routing but use MAC addresses for the actual routing.
Famous quotes containing the word addressing:
“But what is quackery? It is commonly an attempt to cure the diseases of a man by addressing his body alone. There is need of a physician who shall minister to both soul and body at once, that is, to man. Now he falls between two stools.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)