How Store-and-Forward Works Inside a Linux Router, From Textbook to Kernel

A DEV Community article examines the store-and-forward principle, which requires a packet switch to receive a full packet before transmitting its first bit. It explains that the wait arises because the error-check field sits at the end of the frame, so integrity can only be verified after the last byte arrives. Using a Linux router with IP forwarding as the test case, the author traces how the network card buffers the complete frame in memory before the kernel routes it. The piece calculates transmission delay as L/R, showing that a single router between two hosts adds a second L/R, for a total of 2L/R rather than L/R. Worked examples use a 1500-byte packet on a 100 Mbps link, with refinements for real Ethernet overhead.
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