EMIS – 526: Telecommunication & Computer Networking

Term Paper on –

Router Basics

Course Title – Telecommunication & Computer

Networking

Course No - EMIS - 526 (Summer 2010)

Submitted to: Submitted by:

Helal Uddin Ahmed, Mohammad Sohel Rana 08-050

Honorable Course Teacher Shakhawat Hossian 09-058

Department of MIS Ashish Kumar Sarkar 02-059

University of Dhaka Shahidul Islam Talukder 06-026

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Preface
Telecommunications is a field that we must have somewhat a clear
understandings being a Manager in any business now these days.
We were given several options to write out term paper on, we
thought Router would be a better topic as some of us in the group
are already little familiar with this internetworking device.
Here we try to present a brief idea about Router, the driving device of
Internet. Illustrated discussion on parts and components of Router is
performed in concise scope. Understanding of Router Operation and
startup process gives us the idea of Router’s functional ability. Finally
Router’s application is also shown in a data center.

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Table of Contents

Topic Page

Preface 02

Table of content 03

Letter of Transmittal 04

Executive Summary 05

Literature Review 05

Analysis 07

Router Components 08

Operating System of Router 11

Startup Process of Router 12

Conclusion 13

Reference 14

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Letter of Transmittal

August 09, 2010

Helal Uddin Ahmed,

Asst. Professor & Course Teacher (EMIS — 526)
Department of Management Information
Systems Un iversity of Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Subject: Submission of Term Paper

Dear Sir:
Here is the report on the Router that you asked us to complete in the beginning of the
semester.

Router is definitely an integral part of the internetworking. Here we tried to identify the
basic functionalities of router and how to configure it while networking. We are
grateful to you for giving us such an opportunity for preparing a term paper
that enabled us to get an overview of the aspects in the field of Computer
Networking & have some basics understandings of router.

We really enjoyed hard work of preparing the paper. Hope you will find the
report in an appropriate manner. We shall be grateful enough if kindly accept
our report.

Sincerely,

Mohammad Sohel Rana 08-050

Shakhawat Hossian 09-058
Ashish Kumar Sarkar 02-059
Shahidul Islam Talukder 06-026

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 EMIS – 526: Telecommunication & Computer Networking

Executive Summary
Today's networks have a significant impact on our lives - changing the way we live,
work, and play. Computer networks - and in a larger context the Internet - allow people to
communicate, collaborate, and interact in ways they never did before. We use the
network in a variety of ways, including web applications, IP telephony, video
conferencing, interactive gaming, electronic commerce, education, and more.

At the center of the network is the router. Stated simply, a router connects one network to
another network. Therefore, the router is responsible for the delivery of packets across
different networks. The destination of the IP packet might be a web server in another
country or an e-mail server on the local area network. It is the responsibility of the routers
to deliver those packets in a timely manner. The effectiveness of internetworking
communications depends, to a large degree, on the ability of routers to forward packets in
the most efficient way possible.

Routers are now being added to satellites in space. These routers will have the ability to
route IP traffic between satellites in space in much the same way that packets are moved
on Earth, thereby reducing delays and offering greater networking flexibility.

In addition to packet forwarding, a router provides other services as well. To meet the
demands on today's networks, routers are also used to:
• Ensure 24x7 (24 hours a day, 7 days a week) availability. To help guarantee
network reachability, routers use alternate paths in case the primary path fails.
• Provide integrated services of data, video, and voice over wired and wireless
networks. Routers use Quality of service (QoS) prioritization of IP packets to
ensure that real-time traffic, such as voice, video and critical data are not dropped
or delayed.
• Mitigate the impact of worms, viruses, and other attacks on the network by
permitting or denying the forwarding of packets.

All of these services are built around the router and its primary responsibility of
forwarding packets from one network to the next. It is only because of the router's ability
to route packets between networks that devices on different networks can communicate.
Keywords: IP telephony , electronic commerce, packets, server, internetworking,
Quality of service (QoS).

LITERATURE REVIEW
IP Telephony

Same as Voice over IP (VoIP) is a general term for a family of transmission

technologies for delivery of voice communications over IP networks such as the Internet
or other packet-switched networks. Other terms frequently encountered and synonymous

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Internet telephony, voice over broadband (VoBB), broadband telephony, and broadband
phone.

Electronic Commerce
Electronic commerce, commonly known as e-commerce or eCommerce, or e-business
consists of the buying and selling of products or services over electronic systems such as
the Internet and other computer networks. The amount of trade conducted electronically
has grown extraordinarily with widespread Internet usage. The use of commerce is
conducted in this way, spurring and drawing on innovations in electronic funds transfer,
supply chain management, Internet marketing, online transaction processing, electronic
data interchange (EDI), inventory management systems, and automated data collection
systems. Modern electronic commerce typically uses the World Wide Web at least at
some point in the transaction's lifecycle, although it can encompass a wider range of
technologies such as e-mail as well.

Packet
A packet is a formatted unit of data carried by a packet mode computer network.

Server
In computer networking, a server is simply a program that operates as a socket listener[1].
The term server is also often generalized to describe a host that is deployed to execute
one or more such programs.

Internetworking
Internetworking is the practice of connecting a computer network with other networks
through the use of gateways that provide a common method of routing information
packets between the networks. The resulting system of interconnected networks is called
an internetworking, or simply an internet.

Quality of Services (QoS)

In the field of computer networking and other packet-switched telecommunication
networks, the traffic engineering term quality of service (QoS) refers to resource
reservation control mechanisms rather than the achieved service quality.

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Analysis
Router is a device that connects multiple LANs.Routers have many of the same hardware
and software components that are found in other computers including:
 CPU
 RAM
 ROM
 Operating System

The primary responsibility of a router is to direct packets destined for local and remote
networks by:
 Determining the best path to send packets
 Forwarding packets toward their destination

The router uses its routing table to determine the best path to forward the packet. When
the router receives a packet, it examines its destination IP address and searches for the
best match with a network address in the router's routing table.

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Router Components
A Router has the following parts in general –
 RAM
 NVRAM
 Flash
 ROM
 Console
 Interfaces

RAM
Random Access Memory (RAM), has the following Characteristics:
 Stores routing tables
 Holds ARP cache
 Maintains packet-hold queues
 Provides temporary memory for the configuration file while the router is powered
on
 Loses content when router is powered down or restarted

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NVRAM
Non-Volatile RAM (NVRAM) has the following
Characteristics:
 Provides storage for the startup configuration file

 Retains content when router is powered down or restarted

FLASH
Flash is a type of electronically erasable, programmable ROM that has the following
characteristics:
 Provides storage for the startup configuration file

 Retains content when router is powered down or restarted

ROM
Read-Only Memory (ROM) has the following properties:

 Maintains instructions for power-on self test (POST) diagnostics

 Stores bootstrap program and basic operating system software

 Requires replacing pluggable chips on the motherboard for software upgrades

 Provides storage for the startup configuration file

 Retains content when router is powered down or restarted

CONSOLE
A port that allows the network administrator to change or update the configuration file
as needed using -
 HyperTerminal connection,
 Consol cable, and
 Computer

INTERFACES
Interfaces have the Following characteristics:
 Connect router to network for frame entry and exit

 Can be on the motherboard or on a separate module

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TYPES OF INTERFACES

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CISCO IOS
As with a computer, a router or switch cannot function without an operating system.
Cisco calls its operating system the Cisco Internetworking Operating System or Cisco
IOS that provides the following network services:
 Basic routing and switching functions
 Reliable and secure access to networked resources
 Network scalability

CISCO Configuration Files

 Start-up configuration file
 Running Configuration file
 IOS image

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STARTUP PROCESS OF ROUTER

A router initializes by loading the
 bootstrap,
 the operating system, and
 a configuration file.

If the router cannot find a configuration file, it enters setup mode.

Upon completion of the setup mode a backup copy of the configuration file may be saved
to nonvolatile RAM (NVRAM).

The goal of the startup routines for Cisco IOS software is to start the router operations.
To do this, the startup routines must accomplish the following:
 Make sure that the router hardware is tested and functional.
 Find and load the Cisco IOS software.
 Find and apply the startup configuration file or enter the setup mode.

Upon Bootup,
 The startup-config file in NVRAM is copied into RAM and stored as the running-
config file.

 IOS executes the configuration commands in the running-config.

 Any changes entered by the network administrator are stored in the running
config and are immediately implemented by the IOS.

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CONCLUSION
In packet-switched networks such as the Internet, a router is a device that determines the
next network point to which a packet should be forwarded toward its destination. The
router is connected to at least two networks and decides which way to send each
information packet based on its current understanding of the state of the networks it is
connected to. A router is located at any gateway (where one network meets another),
including each point-of-presence on the Internet. So, a Router performs the Most valuable
part for the ever-going Internet to function properly.

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REFERENCE
http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/netacad/index.html

http://authors.phptr.com/tanenbaumcn4/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

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