Which of the following best describes the role of a routing table?

The role of a routing table is best described by the need to maintain the paths for routing packets to their destinations. A routing table is a critical component of a router that contains information about the routes to various network destinations. It acts as a map, helping routers make intelligent decisions about the best path for forwarding packets based on destination IP addresses. Each entry in the routing table indicates the next hop (next router) to reach a specific network or host.

When a packet arrives at a router, the device refers to its routing table to determine the optimal route to the packet's destination address. This process is essential for ensuring efficient and directed packet delivery across interconnected networks. The effectiveness and accuracy of a routing table directly contribute to the overall performance of the network by minimizing delays and optimizing bandwidth usage.

The other options do not accurately reflect the primary function of a routing table. Storing data packets is a function of network devices like buffers, logging errors involves different systems such as logging tools or network management software, and prioritizing traffic based on source addresses relates to Quality of Service (QoS) mechanisms that operate independently of the basic routing function.