Q140859: TCP/IP Routing Basics for Windows NT
Article: Q140859
Product(s): Microsoft Windows NT
Version(s): 2000,3.11,3.5,3.51,4.0,4.0a
Operating System(s):
Keyword(s): kbusage
Last Modified: 08-AUG-2001
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The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft Windows NT Workstation versions 3.5, 3.51, 4.0
- Microsoft Windows NT Server versions 3.5, 3.51, 4.0
- Microsoft BackOffice Small Business Server versions 4.0, 4.0a
- Microsoft Windows for Workgroups version 3.11
- Microsoft Windows 95
- Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional
- Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
- Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
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SUMMARY
=======
This article discusses the Windows NT Routing Table on a single-homed machine
and multihomed Windows NT Router with and without Multi Protocol Router (MPR).
This background information will help with troubleshooting related to TCP/IP.
MORE INFORMATION
================
The Route Table
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Even a single-homed TCP/IP host has to make routing decisions. These routing
decisions are controlled by the route table. The route table can be displayed by
typing "route print" at the command prompt. The following is an example route
table from a single-homed machine. This simple route table is built
automatically by Windows NT based on the IP configuration of your host.
Network Address Netmask Gateway Address Interface Metric
0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 157.57.8.1 157.57.11.169 1
127.0.0.0 255.0.0.0 127.0.0.1 127.0.0.1 1
157.57.8.0 255.255.248.0 157.57.11.169 157.57.11.169 1
157.57.11.169 255.255.255.255 127.0.0.1 127.0.0.1 1
157.57.255.255 255.255.255.255 157.57.11.169 157.57.11.169 1
224.0.0.0 224.0.0.0 157.57.11.169 157.57.11.169 1
255.255.255.255 255.255.255.255 157.57.11.169 157.57.11.169 1
The titles of each column in the above table are explained in following text:
Network Address:
Network Address is the destination. The Network address column can contain:
- Host address
- Subnet address
- Network address
- Default gateway
The search order is also as above, from the most unique route (host address) to
most generic (default gateway):
0.0.0.0 is the default route
127.0.0.0 is the loopback address
157.57.8.0 is the local subnet address
157.57.11.169 is the network card address
157.57.255.255 is the subnet broadcast address
224.0.0.0 is the multicast address
255.255.255.255 is the limited broadcast address
Netmask:
The Netmask defines what portion of the Network Address must match for that route
to be used. When the mask is written in binary a 1 is significant (must match)
and a 0 need not match. For example, a 255.255.255.255 mask is used for a host
entry. The mask of all 255s (all 1s) means that the destination address of the
packet to be routed must exactly match the Network Address for this route to be
used. For another example, the Network Address 157.57.8.0 has a netmask of
255.255.248.0. This netmask means the first two octets must match exactly, the
first 5 bits of the third octet must match (248=11111000) and the last octet
does not matter. Since 8 in the decimal number system is equivalent to 00001000
in binary, a match would have to start with 00001. Thus, any address of 157.57
and the third octet of 8 through 15 (15=00001111) will use this route. This is a
netmask for a subnet route and is therefore called the subnet mask.
Gateway Address:
The Gateway Address is where the packet needs to be sent. This can be the local
network card or a gateway (router) on the local subnet.
Interface:
The Interface is the address of the network card over which the packet should be
sent out. 127.0.0.1 is the software loopback address.
Metric:
The Metric is the number of hops to the destination. Anything on the local LAN is
one hop and each router crossed after that is an additional hop. The Metric is
used to determine the best route.
Multihomed Router
-----------------
The following is the default Route table of a multihomed Windows NT host.
Network Address Netmask Gateway Address Interface Metric
0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 157.57.24.1 157.57.24.193 1
0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 199.199.40.1 199.199.40.139 1
127.0.0.0 255.0.0.0 127.0.0.1 127.0.0.1 1
157.57.24.0 255.255.248.0 157.57.24.193 157.57.24.193 1
157.57.24.193 255.255.255.255 127.0.0.1 127.0.0.1 1
199.199.40.0 255.255.255.0 199.199.40.139 199.199.40.139 1
199.199.40.139 255.255.255.255 127.0.0.1 127.0.0.1 1
199.199.40.255 255.255.255.255 199.199.40.139 199.199.40.139 1
224.0.0.0 224.0.0.0 157.57.24.193 157.57.24.193 1
224.0.0.0 224.0.0.0 199.199.40.139 199.199.40.139 1
255.255.255.255 255.255.255.255 199.199.40.139 199.199.40.139 1
Check "Enable IP Routing" in the Advanced TCP/IP configuration to enable routing.
At this point Windows NT will route between these two subnets.
NOTE - for the Multihomed Router to pass DHCP Discover packets from one subnet to
the other you will need to install the "BootP Relay Agent" that comes with MPR.
MPR is discussed later.
A note on Default gateways:
In the TCP/IP configuration, you can add a default route for each network card.
This will create a 0.0.0.0 route for each. However, only one default route will
actually be used. In this case, the 199.199.40.139 is the first card in the
TCP/IP bindings and therefore the default route for this card will be used.
Since only one default gateway will be used you should only configure one card
to have a default gateway. This will reduce confusion and insure the results you
intended.
For more information, see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge base:
ARTICLE-ID: Q157025
TITLE : Default Gateway Configuration for Multi-Homed Computers
If the Windows NT router does not have an interface on a given subnet, it will
need a route to get there. This can be done by adding Static Routes or by using
MPR. MPR is discussed later.
To Add a Static Route
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The following is an example route.
Route Add 199.199.41.0 mask 255.255.255.0 199.199.40.1 metric 2
NOTE: The metric option is only supported in Windows NT 3.51 with Service Pack 2
or later installed.
The route in this example means that to get to the 199.199.41.0 subnet with a
mask of 255.255.255.0 use gateway 199.199.40.1 and that the subnet is 2 hops
away. A static route will also need to be added on the next router telling it
how to get back to subnets reachable by the first router. With a network of a
few routers or more, static routes can become very complicated.
For additional information, please see the following article(s) in the Microsoft
Knowledge Base:
ARTICLE-ID: Q141383
TITLE : "P" Switch for Route Command Added in Windows NT
Multi Protocol Router (MPR)
---------------------------
MPR consists of the following:
- Routing Information Protocol (RIP) for TCP/IP.
- BOOTP (Boot Protocol) relay agent for Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
(DHCP).
- RIP for IPX.
RIP is used by routers to dynamically exchange routing information. RIP routers
broadcast their routing tables every 30 seconds by default. Other RIP routers
will listen for these RIP broadcasts and update their own route tables.
MPR is available in Service Pack 2 for Windows NT 3.51.
For additional information, please see the RIPROUTE.WRI file (available with
Windows NT 3.51 Service Pack 2) for MPR installation instructions or the
following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
ARTICLE-ID: Q138793
TITLE : Multi-Protocol Router Installation and Configuration
Additional query words: tcpip win95 win95x
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Keywords : kbusage
Technology : kbWinNTsearch kbWinNTWsearch kbWinNTW400 kbWinNTW400search kbWinNT351search kbWinNT350search kbWinNT400search kbWinNTW350 kbWinNTW350search kbWinNTW351search kbWinNTW351 kbwin2000AdvServ kbwin2000AdvServSearch kbwin2000Serv kbWinNTSsearch kbWinNTS400search kbWinNTS400 kbWinNTS351 kbWinNTS350 kbwin2000ServSearch kbwin2000Search kbwin2000ProSearch kbwin2000Pro kbWinNTS351search kbWinNTS350search kbAudDeveloper kbWin95search kbWFWSearch kbSBServSearch kbWinAdvServSearch kbZNotKeyword3 kbWFW311 kbSBServ400 kbSBServ400a
Version : :2000,3.11,3.5,3.51,4.0,4.0a
Issue type : kbhowto
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