Routers are more advanced than typical bridges. A bridge is
passive (transparent) at the network layer and operates at the data link layer.
A router operates at the network layer, and bases all of its forwarding decisions on the Layer 3 protocol address.
It accomplishes this by examining the destination address on the data
packet, then looking in its routing table for forwarding instructions. Routers create the
highest level of segmentation because of their ability to make exact determinations of
where to send the data packet.
Because routers perform more functions than bridges, they
operate with a higher rate of latency. Routers must examine packets to determine the best
path for forwarding them to their destinations. Unavoidably, this process takes time and
introduces latency.
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