{"tags":[{"tag":"p","content":"Network layer messages are termed as packets. "},{"tag":"p","content":"They facilitate the transportation of packets from one end system to another and help to determine the best routes that messages should take from one end system to another. "},{"tag":"p","content":"Routing protocols are applications that run on the network layer and exchange messages with each other to develop information that helps them route transport layer messages. "},{"tag":"p","content":"Load Balancing There are many links (copper wire, optical fiber, wireless) in a given network and one objective of the network layer is to keep them all roughly equally utilized. Otherwise, if some links are under-utilized, there will be concerns about the economic sense of deploying and managing them. "},{"tag":"p","content":""}]}