Types of ARP
A communication protocol called Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) is used to determine a device’s MAC (Media Access Control) address based on its IP address. There are mainly 4 types of ARP available:
1. Proxy ARP
A Layer 3 device can reply to an ARP request for a target that is on a different network than the sender by using a technique called proxy ARP. In response to the ARP, the router that has been set for Proxy ARP maps its MAC address to the target IP address, deceiving the sender into believing that the message has arrived at destination.
Because the packets have the required information, the proxy router at the backend forwards them to the correct location.
2. Gratuitous ARP
The host’s ARP request known as “gratuitous ARP” aids in locating duplicate IP addresses. This is a broadcast request for the router’s IP address. All other nodes are unable to use the IP address assigned to a switch or router in the event that it sends out an ARP request to obtain its IP address and receives no ARP answers in return. However, another node uses the IP address assigned to the switch or router if it sends an ARP request for its IP address and gets an ARP response.
3. Reverse ARP
In a local area network (LAN), the client system uses this networking protocol to ask the ARP gateway router table for its IPv4 address. The network administrator creates a table in the gateway-router that is used to correlate the IP address with the MAC address.
4. Inverse ARP
The purpose of inverse ARP, which is the opposite of ARP, is to deduce the nodes’ IP addresses from their data link layer addresses. Frame relays and ATM networks, where Layer 2 virtual circuit addressing is frequently obtained from Layer 2 signalling, are the primary applications for them. These virtual circuits can be used with the necessary Layer 3 addresses accessible.
How Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) Works?
When computer programs send or get messages, they usually use something called an IP address, which is like a virtual address. But underneath, the real talk happens using another type of address called a MAC address, which is like a device’s actual home address.
So, our goal is to find out the MAC address of where we want to talk to. That’s where ARP comes in handy. It helps by turning the IP address into the physical MAC address, so we can chat with other devices on the network
Most computer programs/applications use logical addresses (IP Addresses) to send/receive messages. However, the actual communication happens over the Physical Address (MAC Address) from layer 2 of the OSI model. So our mission is to get the destination MAC Address which helps communicate with other devices. This is where ARP comes into the picture; its functionality is to translate IP addresses into physical addresses.
ARP