Alternatives To ARP
Each computer maintains its own table of the mapping from Layer 3 addresses (e.g. IP addresses) to Layer 2 addresses (e.g. ethernet MAC addresses). In a modern computer this is maintained almost entirely by ARP packets on the local network and it thus often called the 'ARP cache' as opposed to 'Layer 2 address table'. In older computers, where broadcast packets were considered an expensive resource, other methods were used to maintain this table, such as static configuration files, or centrally maintained lists. Since at least the 1980s networked computers have had a command called arp for interrogating or manipulating this table, and practically all modern personal computers have a variant of this.
Read more about this topic: Address Resolution Protocol
Famous quotes containing the words alternatives to, alternatives and/or arp:
“The literal alternatives to [abortion] are suicide, motherhood, and, some would add, madness. Consequently, there is some confusion, discomfort, and cynicism greeting efforts to “find” or “emphasize” or “identify” alternatives to abortion.”
—Connie J. Downey (b. 1934)
“Clearly, society has a tremendous stake in insisting on a woman’s natural fitness for the career of mother: the alternatives are all too expensive.”
—Ann Oakley (b. 1944)
“Art is a fruit that grows in man, like a fruit on a plant, or a child in its mother’s womb.”
—Jean Arp (1887–1948)