Now that we have unearthed IP addresses and their 32-bit addresses, packet/datagram flow and subnetting, we need to discover how a host station or infrastructure equipment, such as a router, match an IP address to a physical hardware address. This section explains the mapping process that makes communication possible. Every interface, or network interface card (NIC), in a station, server, or infrastructure equipment has a unique physical address that is programmed by and bound internally by the manufacturer.
One goal of infrastructure software is to communicate using an assigned IP or Internet address, while hiding the unique physical address of the hardware. Underneath all of this is the address mapping of the assigned address to the actual physical hardware address. To map these addresses, programmers use the Address Resolution Protocol (ARP).
Basically, ARP is a packet that is broadcasted to all hosts attached to a physical network. This packet contains the IP address of the node or station with which the sender wants to communicate. Other hosts on the network ignore this packet after storing a copy of the sender’s IP/hardware address mapping. The target host, however, will reply with its hardware address, which will be returned to the sender, to be stored in its ARP response cache.
Tags: ARP/RARP Engineering
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