https://ittechnetworkk.co.uk/tags/ipsla/ Recent content in Ipsla on ittechnetworkk Hugo en-US Tue, 16 Jun 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://ittechnetworkk.co.uk/posts/policy-based-routing/ Tue, 16 Jun 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://ittechnetworkk.co.uk/posts/policy-based-routing/ <p>Hi everyone, I hope you&rsquo;re all doing well. In this article, I&rsquo;ll walk you through <strong>Policy-Based Routing (PBR)</strong> — what it is, how it works, and when you&rsquo;d actually use it.</p> <h2 id="what-is-policy-based-routing">What is Policy-Based Routing?</h2> <p>Policy-Based Routing is a mechanism that allows network administrators to forward packets based on <strong>administrator-defined policies</strong> rather than destination-IP-only routing table lookups.</p> <table> <thead> <tr> <th>Routing Type</th> <th>Key Question</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>Standard Routing</td> <td><em>Where is this packet going?</em></td> </tr> <tr> <td>Policy-Based Routing</td> <td><em>Who sent it, what kind is it, and where should it go based on my rules?</em></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <h3 id="why-standard-routing-falls-short">Why Standard Routing Falls Short</h3> <p>A standard router looks only at the <strong>destination IP</strong>, consults the routing table, and forwards — nothing else. It doesn&rsquo;t care about the source, the application, the ToS bits, or packet size. This becomes a limitation when you need traffic differentiation, such as sending VoIP over a low-latency link while bulk backups go over a cheaper one.</p>