MAPPING IP ADDRESSES TO MAC ADDRESSES
Before any host sends IP data to a destination address, it determines the MAC address of the destination host, because the Data Link layer knows only about MAC addresses. The Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) is a part of the TCP/IP stack implementation, and it maps IP addresses to MAC addresses. This protocol determines the MAC address given to an IP address. Another protocol, the Reverse Address Resolution Protocol (RARP), does the reverse process and maps the MAC addresses to IP addresses. RARP is used with diskless workstations. These protocols are explained in the following sections.
The Address Resolution Protocol (ARP)
The Address Resolution Protocol is a broadcast protocol. When a host wants to ...
Get Solaris™ 8 Network Administrator Certification Training Guide now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
