Chapter 16: Understanding ARP
When data travels across networks, the packets use a logical or Internet Protocol (IP) address to identify the destination host. However, on a local area network (LAN), the packets use a physical or media access control (MAC) address to deliver data to a host. When a packet is transported from a website across the internet to a host on a LAN, the switch only has an IP address to identify the host. How does the device locate the destination host? That is the responsibility of the Address Resolution Protocol (ARP), which resolves an IP address to a MAC address so that the data gets delivered to the correct host.
In this chapter, we'll learn how ARP works, and why it is an important protocol in ensuring the timely ...
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