ROUTER

A router is a networking device that forwards data packets between computer networks. Routers Internet. A data packet is typically forwarded from one router to another router through the networks that constitute the internetwork until it reaches its destination node.

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A router is connected to two or more data lines from different networks. When a data packet comes in on one of the lines, the router reads the address information in the packet to determine the ultimate destination. Then, using information in its routing table or routing policy, it directs the packet to the next network on its journey. This creates an overlay internetwork.
The most familiar type of routers are home and small office routers that simply pass IP packets between the home computers and the Internet. An example of a router would be the owner's cable or DSL router, which connects to the Internet through an Internet service provider (ISP). More sophisticated routers, such as enterprise routers, 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. Though routers are typically dedicated hardware devices, software-based routers also exist.
A router is a device that forwards data packets along networks. A router is connected to at least two networks, commonly two LANs or WANs or a LAN and its ISP's network. Routers are located at gateways, the places where two or more networks connect.
Routers use headers and forwarding tables to determine the best path for forwarding the packets, and they use protocols such as ICMP to communicate with each other and configure the best route between any two hosts.

A router is hardware device designed to receive, analyze and move incoming packets to another network. It may also be used to convert the packets to another network interface, drop them, and perform other actions relating to a network. The picture shows the Linksys BEFSR11 wireless router and is what many home routers resemble.

A router has a lot more capabilities than other network devices, such as a hub or a switch that are only able to perform basic network functions. For example, a hub is often used to transfer data between computers or network devices, but does not analyze or do anything with the data it is transferring. By contrast, routers can analyze the data being sent over a network, change how it is packaged, and send it to another network or over a different network. For example, routers are commonly used in home networks to share a single Internet connection between multiple computers.