ARP – Protocolo de resolución de direcciones

The Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) is a communication protocol used for

discovering the link layer address, such as a MAC address, associated with a
given internet layer address, typically an IPv4 address. This mapping is a critical function in
the Internet protocol suite. ARP was defined in 1982 by RFC 826,[1] which is Internet
Standard STD 37.

ARP has been implemented with many combinations of network and data link layer
technologies, such as IPv4, Chaosnet, DECnet and Xerox PARC Universal Packet (PUP)
using IEEE 802 standards, FDDI, X.25, Frame Relay and Asynchronous Transfer
Mode (ATM).

In Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) networks, the functionality of ARP is provided by

the Neighbor Discovery Protocol (NDP).

Operating scope

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The Address Resolution Protocol is a request-response protocol. Its messages are directly
encapsulated by a link layer protocol. It is communicated within the boundaries of a
single subnetwork and is never routed.

Packet structure

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The Address Resolution Protocol uses a simple message format containing one address
resolution request or response. The packets are carried at the data link layer of the
underlying network as raw payload. In the case of Ethernet, a 0x0806 EtherType value is
used to identify ARP frames.

The size of the ARP message depends on the link layer and network layer address sizes.
The message header specifies the types of network in use at each layer as well as the size
of addresses of each. The message header is completed with the operation code for
request (1) and reply (2). The payload of the packet consists of four addresses, the
hardware and protocol address of the sender and receiver hosts.

The principal packet structure of ARP packets is shown in the following table which
illustrates the case of IPv4 networks running on Ethernet. In this scenario, the packet has
48-bit fields for the sender hardware address (SHA) and target hardware address (THA),
and 32-bit fields for the corresponding sender and target protocol addresses (SPA and
TPA). The ARP packet size in this case is 28 bytes.

RARP – Protocolo de resolución de direcciones Inverso

The Reverse Address Resolution Protocol (RARP) is an obsolete
computer communication protocol used by a client computer to request its Internet
Protocol (IPv4) address from a computer network, when all it has available is its link
layer or hardware address, such as a MAC address.[1] The client broadcasts the request
and does not need prior knowledge of the network topology or the identities of servers
capable of fulfilling its request.

RARP has been rendered obsolete by the Bootstrap Protocol (BOOTP) and the
modern Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), which both support a much greater
feature set than RARP.

RARP requires one or more server hosts to maintain a database of mappings of Link
Layer addresses to their respective protocol addresses. MAC addresses need to be
individually configured on the servers by an administrator. RARP is limited to serving
only IP addresses.

Reverse ARP di ers from the Inverse Address Resolution Protocol (InARP), which is
designed to obtain the IP address associated with a local Frame Relay data link
connection identifier.[2] InARP is not used in Ethernet.

Modern Day Uses

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Although the original uses for RARP have been superseded by di erent protocols, some
modern day protocols use RARP to handle MAC migration, particularly in virtual machines,
using a technique originating in QEMU.

Examples are:

 Cisco's Overlay Transport Virtualization (OTV). RARP is used to update the layer 2
forwarding tables when a MAC address moves between data centers.

 VMware vSphere's vMotion.[3] RARP is used when a VM MAC moves between hosts.

The Reverse Address Resolution Protocol (RARP) is a networking protocol used to map a
physical (MAC) address to an Internet Protocol (IP) address. This is the reverse of the more
commonly used Address Resolution Protocol (ARP), which maps an IP address to a MAC
address1.

How RARP Works

RARP operates at the Network Access Layer and is employed to send data between two
points in a network. Each network participant has two unique addresses: an IP address
(logical address) and a MAC address (physical address). The IP address is assigned by
software, while the MAC address is embedded in the hardware1.

When a new machine is set up or a machine without memory to store the IP address
needs an IP address, it sends a RARP broadcast packet containing its own MAC address.
The RARP server, which holds the data of all MAC addresses with their assigned IP
addresses, responds to this request by informing the client of its IP address1.

Di erences Between RARP and ARP

 RARP: Maps a MAC address to an IP address. It is used to obtain the IP address of

a network device when only its MAC address is known1.
  ARP: Maps an IP address to a MAC address. It is used to obtain the MAC address of
a network device when only its IP address is known1.

Disadvantages of RARP

RARP has several limitations:

 The RARP server must be located within the same physical network.

 It cannot handle the subnetting process because no subnet masks are sent.

 It does not fully utilize the potential of a network like Ethernet.

 It has become obsolete due to its low-level operation and the need for direct
access to the network1.

Alternatives to RARP

RARP has been largely replaced by more advanced protocols such as:

 Bootstrap Protocol (BOOTP): Developed to overcome the limitations of RARP,

BOOTP allows a network device to obtain an IP address and other configuration
information from a BOOTP server1.

 Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP): An extension of BOOTP, DHCP

provides a more comprehensive solution for dynamically assigning IP addresses
and other network configuration parameters to devices on a network1.

Both BOOTP and DHCP o er greater flexibility and functionality compared to RARP,
making them the preferred choices in modern networking environments1.

Conclusion

RARP played an important role in the development of computer networking protocols and
continues to be used in certain contexts. However, it has largely been replaced by newer
protocols such as DHCP, which provide more flexibility and functionality in assigning IP
addresses dynamically