In the path of delivering a packet, what is the role of the nearest router?

• A. Forward the packet toward its destination.
• B. Change the packet's source IP address.
• C. Resolve the domain name in the URL.
• D. Encrypt the packet payload.

Answer: (A)

At the heart of this idea is how routing works: a router’s job is to take a received packet and decide where to send it next. The nearest router is the first device between you and the rest of the network, so it looks at the packet’s destination IP address and uses its routing table to choose the next hop that will bring the packet closer to that destination. By forwarding the packet along to the next router, it helps the packet travel step by step toward its final host. It doesn’t typically change the source IP or try to resolve domain names, and encryption isn’t something the router handles as part of basic forwarding. Those other functions are handled by different processes or layers (NAT in some routers, DNS, and encryption at higher layers or with secure tunnels).