A router is a networking device that forwards data packets from one network to another network based on their IP addresses. It is essentially a gateway to another network. It operates at the network layer(Layer 3) of the OSI reference model. When a data packet is received from the sending router, the receiving router inspects the packet's destination IP address and determines if the packet was made for its own network or another network. If the data packet is made for its own network then it receives it, if it is made for another network then it forwards the data packet to the destination network. The router makes use of the information present in the routing table. While Hubs and switches are used to create a network , routers are used to connect networks .