what is longest prefix match

Router Processing An Incoming Packet Through Four Sequential Decision Gates — Longest Prefix Match, Administrative Distance, Metric, And Forward — Before Sending It To The Destination Network
CCNA

How a Router Makes a Packet Forwarding Decision: A Step-by-Step Guide

Routers are the traffic directors of the internet, guiding data packets to their destinations with precision. But how exactly do they decide where to send each packet? This guide breaks down the router packet forwarding process step by step, covers the Longest Prefix Match and Administrative Distance rules that actually determine route selection, and explains...

Asad Ijaz 10 min read
Decision Tree Showing How A Host Determines Local Versus Remote Traffic Forwarding
CCNA

Host Forwarding Decisions: How Hosts Actually Route Their Own Traffic

Every networked device, whether it’s a dedicated router or an ordinary laptop, has to decide how to get a packet toward its destination. Routers specialize in this, but end hosts, PCs, servers, phones, make their own forwarding decisions too, using a much simpler process built on subnetting, a minimal routing table, and address resolution. This...

Asad Ijaz 8 min read
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