Explain how the operating system decides where to send a TCP packet when attempting to establish a connection with a specific remote node.

When the operating system receives a task to establish a TCP connection with a remote node, it must determine through which network interface and gateway to send the TCP packet. For this, the OS uses the routing table.

The process is as follows:

1. The OS looks at the destination IP address.
2. It compares it with the routes in the routing table, selecting the most specific route (with the largest subnet mask) that matches the destination address.
3. If the destination address is in the local network, the packet is sent directly through the corresponding network interface.
4. If not — the packet is directed to the default gateway or to the gateway specified in the route.

Thus, the routing table determines exactly where to send the packet — to the local interface or to the next node (router), which will bring the packet closer to the final address.

This allows for efficient management of network traffic and ensures data delivery in complex networks.