Routers send packets to various networks based on the information available in the routing table.
They learn about the networks that are directly connected, based on the IP addresses configured on their interfaces.
These networks are automatically included in the routing table, which is then used for sending packets to destinations belonging to them.
For routers to send or forward packets to networks that are not directly connected, they must know the path to reach the destination network.
One way for the router to know the path to such networks is to configure a static route, which adds this particular route to the routing table.
To configure a static route, issue the ip route prefix mask {ip-address | interface-type interface-number [ip-address]} [distance] [name] [permanent] [tag tag] command in global configuration mode.
For example, issue the command ip route 192.168.20.0 255.255.255.0 192.168.17.254 to configure a static route for the network 192.168.20.0/24 pointing to the next-hop IP address 192.168.17.254.
The next-hop IP address should either be directly connected or should be reachable by recursive routing table lookup if not connected directly.
For more information on specifying next-hop IP addresses for static routes refer to:
Specifying a Next Hop IP Address for Static Routes
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