<P> A router has two types of network element components organized onto separate planes: </P> <Ul> <Li> Control plane: A router maintains a routing table that lists which route should be used to forward a data packet, and through which physical interface connection . It does this using internal preconfigured directives, called static routes, or by learning routes dynamically using a routing protocol . Static and dynamic routes are stored in the routing table . The control - plane logic then strips non-essential directives from the table and builds a forwarding information base (FIB) to be used by the forwarding plane . </Li> <Li> Forwarding plane: The router forwards data packets between incoming and outgoing interface connections . It forwards them to the correct network type using information that the packet header contains matched to entries in the FIB supplied by the control plane . </Li> </Ul> <Li> Control plane: A router maintains a routing table that lists which route should be used to forward a data packet, and through which physical interface connection . It does this using internal preconfigured directives, called static routes, or by learning routes dynamically using a routing protocol . Static and dynamic routes are stored in the routing table . The control - plane logic then strips non-essential directives from the table and builds a forwarding information base (FIB) to be used by the forwarding plane . </Li> <Li> Forwarding plane: The router forwards data packets between incoming and outgoing interface connections . It forwards them to the correct network type using information that the packet header contains matched to entries in the FIB supplied by the control plane . </Li>

A router can act as an access point but will also need a modem to perform which action