Summary
Routers are extremely intelligent, capable, and versatile devices. They can provide all the functions of any bridge, and they can even segment adjacent LANs by IP domains instead of either of the Layer 2 domains. This makes them the most powerful of all LAN segmentation mechanisms.
As useful as they may be in a LAN environment, routers were originally designed to internetwork using network layer addresses and protocols. Their capabilities in this capacity are what make routers absolutely indispensable in today's networks. For more information on how routers operate in internetworks, read Chapter 4, "Routers and WANs."
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