What Does a Route Manager Do?

Soft routing refers to using a desktop or server to cooperate with software to form a routing solution. Software routing is mainly used to achieve the function of the router. Hard routing is based on unique hardware equipment, including processors, power supplies, and embedded software. Set router function.

Soft routing

software

According to the different operations, it can be divided into windows-based and Linux / bsd-based development.

An ordinary PC with 486 or more and 8M memory or more can be added with two network cards. Some software routers such as CoyoteLinux only need one.

At present, the popular software routers are all foreign. The official website of foreign software router developers is a good place to learn.

There are many benefits of soft routing. For example, using cheap desktops with free Linux software, soft routing is more flexible, and the performance of desktop processors is strong, so the processing efficiency is good and it is easier to expand. However, correspondingly, technicians are required to master more professional knowledge such as setting methods and parameter design. At the same time, the settings are more complicated, and the technicians must have certain technical skills to respond. At the same time, if the hardware configuration of the desktop is poorly selected or unreasonable, and if it is a router function for a long time, the probability of failure will be very high. The cost of using a desktop computer is not low, but if you want to use a server, the cost is higher, and the learning process for technicians is more complicated.

Soft routing concepts

intel82576 soft routing network card

Soft routing is usually performed by a common computer, using a common operating system, such as linux or windows, so the routing settings are actually the settings of windows or linux, or the configuration of the computer. The PC can be a very old 486 or a more advanced PC / server. Software and hardware are independent; most of the hardware routers are based on embedded system architecture. They use self-developed or ready-made embedded operating systems such as Vxworks, Montavista, uClinux, etc. as operating systems, and cooperate with system vendors to develop Routing software, software and hardware work together. The hardware router adopts a special operating system, so a hyper terminal (computer) is used to manage the router through the console. The management of the hardware router is usually implemented by a dedicated command line, graphical interface or network management software.

Software routing hardware architecture

The hardware architecture of software routers is universal and suitable for the installation and use of various application software, not just designed for routers; the hardware architecture of hardware routers is designed specifically for routers, and some CPUs are developed for network applications.

Software routing hardware assembly

Software router users may have to assemble the hardware by themselves. Generally, the PC may not have a network card (such as a very old 486) or only one network card. The user must install an additional network card to meet the routing function. The hardware may have compatibility problems that users must solve by themselves; users of hardware routers do not need to assemble the hardware themselves. The matching design of the hardware has been completed by the system manufacturer and has undergone rigorous testing without incompatibility.

Soft routing software installation

Users of software routers must install the software themselves. Some software is free and some of them pay royalties. Users of hardware routers do not need to install the software themselves. The software is included in the flash memory of the product.

Soft routing software maintenance

The software provided by the software router is usually non-commercial open program code. Generally, some experts from various places participate in the development and modification because of their interest. Functional integrity and debugging cannot be guaranteed; the software functions of the hardware router are developed by the system manufacturer launching the product, with high consistency. The increase of functions and debugging is maintained by the system manufacturer. Users only need to do software upgrades. There is a reliable pipeline for obtaining the upgraded software and after-sales service is guaranteed.

Soft routing collocation

Software router software must be off-the-shelf hardware (

bcm5709s soft routing network card

(Such as PC) and off-the-shelf operating systems (such as Windows and Linux), neither the hardware nor the operating system is designed for network / routing functions. Stability cannot be generalized, users must pay relative costs, time, effort, and money; while the software and hardware of the hardware router use embedded operating systems and match each other, so the overall design is simple and efficient, not only stable, but Easy to set up, the cost of the product plus the cost of the user is relatively low.

Soft routing using interface

In software routers, different software has different methods, some are window screens, and some are command line instructions. Not necessarily easy to understand. Some require very professional knowledge; most hardware routers use the Web GUI to make settings, emphasizing user friendly, and making simple and easy to understand settings based on specific functions.

Difference in soft routing levels

There is no difference between software routers and performance depends on the PC and software chosen by the trial user. So it may not be suitable for a variety of different network / routing applications. The more advanced the application environment requires the more professional knowledge to cope with it freely; the hardware router will develop different levels of routers for different levels of network / routing applications to achieve better cost performance.

Soft routing working environment

Software routers can only work on Ethernet networks to achieve interconnection between local area networks. Hardware routers have a wealth of interface types, so they are suitable for various types of networks. They can be used for both LAN interconnections and WAN and Internet interconnections. In addition, the efficiency of the two is also different. Soft routing can be applied to small networks with low communication efficiency, and hardware routing can be applied to large, medium and small networks with high communication efficiency.

Soft routing applications

In general, different products are suitable for different customer groups. From the perspective of many product developments, the software approach is suitable for more technically capable

intel82573 soft routing network card

Network management, while the general network management hopes to put its energy into other more valuable places, it uses hard routing. Due to the limitation of the computer, the soft routing can only use the Ethernet card, so it is basically limited to the connection between the Ethernet networks. Only when the Ethernet networks are divided into multiple network segments, the soft routing connection is used.

If the network is large enough to divide subnets, the efficiency of soft routing is obviously not sufficient for high-speed communication between networks. In terms of price, soft routing is the price of a computer, while the price of hardware routing varies greatly depending on the performance. To be honest, if only NAT translation is implemented, then the computer is more efficient than the hardware router.

Combining multiple considerations, buyers must fully understand their network environment and investment plans to consider how to choose a router. The author analyzes the working environment requirements of Internet cafes by way of example. The requirements of Internet cafes for routers have the following points in common: data processing capacity must be strong, the Internet can be connected at a high speed, and there is no disconnection and non-stop under large data traffic; it has a high degree of stability and reliability, and can be stable for a long time without interruption Work; it must have strong compatibility and be able to adapt to different access services of different operators; easy to install, easy to configure, easy to manage, easy to use, friendly and easy to understand user interface; under the premise of ensuring performance, there must be a Reasonable price with excellent performance-price ratio.

Therefore, for a certain scale of Internet cafes, they are more inclined to use hard routing, and using hardware routers brings greater advantages, such as molding equipment, no maintenance required for one commissioning, and no trouble of parts maintenance; technical support from professional manufacturers Professional software upgrades for free; can implement line backup, load balancing, strategic routing and many other applications that meet the requirements of Internet cafes; most products use network-specific CPUs to solve complex network routing problems; professional technical tracking can solve emerging network applications New issues, all solved for free, and more.