TCP/IP troubleshooter
Route information
Route selection (how and where the system sends outbound IP traffic) is accomplished by processing or checking routes in a particular order. The destination IP address in the IP packet determines the route that will be selected. The system selects the routes in this order:
- Direct Routes:
- Created automatically by the system based on an interface that was previously configured.
- Subnet mask value is the same as the subnet mask value you specified for the interface you previously configured.
- Next hop value is always *DIRECT.
- Host Routes:
- Created to route traffic to one specific host.
- Subnet mask value is always 255.255.255.255 or *HOST. If you enter the mask 255.255.255.255 for the host route, the operating system converts the numerical address to *HOST.
- Network Routes:
- Created to route traffic to an entire network of hosts.
- Subnet mask value varies depending on your specific subnetting scheme.
- Default Routes:
- Created to route traffic when the IP packet does not find a match in the previous three types of routes.
- Subnet mask value is always *NONE.
See examples of each of these types of routes:
Note: The IP addresses 10.x.x.x and 192.x.x.x represent public IP addresses. All of these addresses are fictitious and are used for example purposes only
| Type of Route |
Route Destination |
Subnet Mask |
Next Hop |
| Direct Route |
10.1.1.0 |
255.255.255.0 |
*DIRECT |
| Host Route |
192.16.1.41 |
*HOST |
10.1.1.1 |
| Network Route |
192.18.3.0 |
255.255.255.0 |
10.1.1.2 |
| Default Route |
*DFTROUTE |
*NONE |
10.1.1.3 |