IP Routing Protocols

REVERSE ARP (RARP)

The ARP protocol is a useful technique for determining physical addresses from network addresses. However, some workstations do not know their own IP address. For example, diskless workstations do not have any IP address knowledge when they are booted to a system. The diskless workstations know only their hardware address.

The reverse address resolution protocol (RARP) works in a manner similar to ARP except, as the name suggests, it works in reverse order. The process is illustrated in Figure C-5. The inquiring machine (for example, a diskless workstation) broadcasts a RARP request. This request specifies that machine A is the target machine in contrast to the ARP protocol, which would identify the receiving machine as the ...