Overview
Network stations using the IP protocol need both a physical address and an IP address to transmit a packet. In situations where the station knows only the network host's IP address, the Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) enables the network station to determine a network host's physical address by binding a 32-bit IP address to a 48-bit MAC address. A network station can use ARP across a single network only, and the network hardware must support physical broadcasts. If a network station wants to send a packet to a host but knows only the host's IP address, the network station uses ARP to determine the host's physical address.
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