What is the operation of the routing table?

• A. The routing table stores information in RAM about directly connected and remote networks.
• B. The routing table is stored in flash memory and used for firmware updates
• C. The routing table contains ARP entries for hosts
• D. The routing table lists all interfaces on the router

Answer: (A)

The routing table is the router’s map of how to reach different networks, kept in RAM so it can be updated quickly as the network changes. It stores information about directly connected networks (the networks reachable via the router’s own interfaces) and remote networks learned through static routes or dynamic routing protocols. When a packet arrives, the router consults this table to determine the next hop or which exit interface to use, guiding the forwarding decision.

It’s separate from other tables you might hear about: ARP entries live in the ARP cache and map IP addresses to MAC addresses on the local link, not routing decisions; the flash memory holds firmware and images, not the runtime routing information; and the routing table isn’t simply a list of all interfaces but a set of routes with destination networks, next hops, and related metrics.