Unicast IP Forwarding in Traditional IP Networks
In traditional IP networks, routing protocols are used to distribute Layer 3 routing information. Figure 1-1 depicts a traditional IP network where network layer reachability information (NLRI) for network 172.16.10.0/24 is propagated using an IP routing protocol. Regardless of the routing protocol, packet forwarding is based on the destination address alone. Therefore, when a packet is received by the router, it determines the next-hop address using the packet's destination IP address along with the information from its own forwarding/routing table. This process of determining the next hop is repeated at each hop (router) from the source to the destination except in the case of policy-based routing where a certain outbound policy might affect packet forwarding.