@SystemsAppr@discuss.systems I'm probably more aligned with Bruce by the sound of it. I used to explain to students that even their Windows laptops do IP routing, and they have routing tables! But cautioned, I wouldn't call them routers, even though they might have a really elaborate set of routes from their VPN. All hosts make forwarding decisions by examining the destination address and at least decide to deliver 1) locally, 2) to a directly attached host, or 3) a gateway. But decrementing the TTL/hop-limit is a basic requirement, as is updating the checksum in v4. I call a router connecting autonomous systems a "border" router. Even if it is pointing default and not doing BGP. I think @jeroen@secluded.ch is essentially right, the original usage of terms is still fundamentally precise and correct. The evolution of terms in the "market" has just confused things considerably. I often need more context to understand what people are talking about because a router to them is often not what I think of as a router.