Router

A router is a special type of Ethernet switch that provides a superior level of packet routing. A router perform the "traffic directing" functions on the Internet.

The most familiar type of routers are home and small office routers that simply pass data, such as web pages and email, between the home computers and the owner's cable or DSL modem, which connects to the Internet (ISP).

More sophisticated routers, however, range from enterprise routers, which connect large business or ISP networks up to the powerful core routers that forward data at high speed along the optical fiber lines of the Internet backbone.