Binding Protocol Addresses (ARP)

  • A frame transmitted across a physical network must contain the hardware address of the destination.
  • Before protocol software can send a packet across a physical network, the software must translate the IP address of the destination computer into an equivalent hardware address
  • Protocol addresses are abstractions provided by software
  • Physical network hardware does not know how to locate a computer from its protocol address.
  • The protocol address of the next hop must be translated to an equivalent hardware address before a packet can be sent