Network2/Concept/Router

Routers are network nodes which receive messages containing encapsulated payloads on a link and which decapsulate, inspect, and potentially re-encapsulate the received payload before retransmitting it along a (usually) different link in the hopes of bringing the encapsulated payload closer to its destination address. Routers permit the creation of internetworks from simpler networks.

The route along which a message is sent as it travels from its source to a destination is called a path. A message which is sent to one or more destinations along one or more routes is said to have been routed along a multipath.