Virtual Router

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What Does Virtual Router Mean?

Virtual router is a software-based routing framework that allows the host machine to perform as a typical hardware router over a local area network.
A virtual router can enable a computer/server to have the abilities of a full-fledged router by performing the network and packet routing functionality of the router via a software application. Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP) may implement virtual routers to increase the reliability of the network. This is done by advertising a virtual router as the default gateway, backed by a group of physical routers.

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Techopedia Explains Virtual Router

Virtual routers are normally backed by two physical routers. One router performs the typical routing while the other provides redundancy in case of fail-over. Each virtual router that is created is identified with a unique virtual router identifier. The last byte of the address is the virtual router identifier (VRID); each virtual router in the network has a different number. This address is used by only one physical router at a time. A router will reply with this media access control (MAC) address when an Adress Resolution Protocol request is sent for the virtual router’s IP address. Physical routers within the virtual router communicate using packets with multicast IP address 224.0.0.18 and IP protocol number 112.

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Margaret Rouse
Technology Expert
Margaret Rouse
Technology Expert

Margaret is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical business audience. Over the past twenty years, her IT definitions have been published by Que in an encyclopedia of technology terms and cited in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine, and Discovery Magazine. She joined Techopedia in 2011. Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages.