Internet Protocol
Addressing and routing are the most complex aspects of IP. However, intelligence in the network is located at nodes (network interconnection points) in the form of routers which forward datagrams to the next known gateway on the route to the final destination. The routers use interior gateway protocols (IGPs) or external gateway protocols (EGPs) to help with making forwarding route decisions. Routes are determined by the routing prefix within the datagrams. The routing process can therefore become complex. But at the speed of light (or nearly so) the routing intelligence determines the best route, and the datagram pieces and datagram all eventually arrive at their destination