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Address Resolution Protocol

An IP address alone cannot be used to deliver data from one device to another on a LAN. In order for

data to be sent from one device on the LAN to another, you must convert the IP address of the

destination device to its media access control (MAC) address. Each device on an Ethernet network has

a unique Ethernet MAC address, which is a 48-bit number assigned to each device by the manufacturer.

The technique that associates the IP address with a MAC address is known as address resolution, and

IP uses the Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) to do this.

If a device needs to send data to another station on the network and it does not already have the

destination MAC address recorded, ARP is used. An ARP request is broadcast onto the network, and

all stations receive and read the request. The destination IP address for the chosen station is included as

part of the message so that only the station with this IP address responds to the ARP request and all

other nodes discard it.

The node with the right IP address responds with its own MAC address directly to the sender,

providing the transmitting station with the destination MAC address needed for it to send the data. The

IP address data and MAC address data for each node are held in an ARP table, so that the next time

data needs to be sent, the address can be obtained from the address information in the table.

IP Configuration by DHCP

When an IP-based local area network is installed, each workstation must be configured with an IP

address. If the workstations need to access the Internet, they should also be configured with a gateway

address and one or more DNS server addresses. As an alternative to manual configuration, there is a

method by which each device on the network can obtain this configuration information automatically.

A device on the network may act as a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server. The

DHCP server stores a list or pool of IP addresses, along with other information (such as gateway and

DNS addresses) that it may assign to the other devices on the network. The NETGEAR Model

RT328/RH348 router has the capacity to act as a DHCP server.

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Netgear PS111W User Manual Page 96