Reference Manual for the Model RP614 Web Safe Router
B-2 Network and Routing Basics
Routersvary in performance and scale, number of routing protocols supported, and types of
physicalWAN connection they support. The Model RP614 Web Safe Routeris a small office
routerthat routes the IP protocol over a single-user broadband connection.
Routing Information Protocol
One ofthe protocols used by a router to build and maintain a picture of the networkis the Routing
InformationProtocol (RIP). Using RIP, routers periodicallyupdate one another and check for
changes to add to the routing table.
The ModelRP614 router supports both the older RIP-1 and the newer RIP-2 protocols. Among
other improvements,RIP-2 supports subnet and multicast protocols. RIP is not required for most
home applications.
IP Addresses and the Internet
Because TCP/IP networks are interconnected across th ew orld, every machine on the Internet must
havea unique address to make sure that transmitted data reaches the correct destination. Blocks of
addressesare assigned to organizations by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority(IANA).
Individualusers and small organizations may obtain their addresses either from the IANA or from
an Internetservice provider (ISP). You can contact IANA at www.iana.org.
The InternetProtocol (IP) uses a 32-bit address structure. The address is usually written in dot
notation(also called dotted-decimal notation), in which each group of eight bits is writtenin
decimal form,separated by decimal points.
For example, the followingbinary address:
11000011 00100010 00001100 00000111
is normally written as:
195.34.12.7
The latterversion is easier to remember and easier to enter into your computer.
In addition, the 32 bits of the address are subdivided into two par ts. The first part of the address
identifiesthe network, and the second part identifies the host node or station on the network.The
dividingpoint may vary depending on the address range and the application.