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Manage the IPv4 Routing Table

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Applies To: Windows Server 2008

On a computer running the Routing and Remote Access service on Windows Server® 2008, several methods for managing the IP routing table are available:

  • The route command-line tool, which is designed specifically to display and manage the IP routing table.

  • The Netsh routing IP context, which includes several commands for managing IP routes.

  • The Routing and Remote Access snap-in, which displays the routing table with an additional column that lists the source from which the route was obtained. View the routing table by right-clicking IP Routing\Static Routes in the console tree and then selecting Show IP Routing Table.

In addition to using the route print command to view the routing table, you can also use route to add, change, or delete routes. Because the IP routing table is stored in RAM and is rebuilt whenever a computer is restarted, one common practice is to use route add with the -p option to add a static route that is persistent, that is, a route that persists even after the computer is restarted. Persistent routes are stored in the registry.

The IP routing table that appears in the Routing and Remote Access snap-in includes one additional column that the route print command does not display. This is the Protocol column, which identifies how the router learned each route. For example, Local identifies a route on the local node; Static identifies a static route that the administrator configured manually; RIP identifies dynamic routes learned from routers configured to use this routing protocol.

The following displays the IP routing table on a Windows Server 2008 Routing and Remote Access router.