ARP and RARP

ARP RARP
Position of ARP and RARP in
TCP/IP protocol suite
ARP
ARP
•ARP associates an IP address with its physical address.
On a typical physical network, such as a LAN, each device
on a link is identified by a physical or station address that
is usually imprinted on the NIC.
ARP Operation
An ARP request is broadcast;
an ARP reply is unicast.
ARP Packet
The fields are as follows:

Hardware Type
- This is a 16-bit field defining the type of the
network on which ARP is running.
Protocol Type
- This is a 16-bit field defining the protocol.
For example, the value of this field for the
IPv4 protocol is 080016
 Contd...
Hardware Length
- This is an 8-bit field defining the length of
the physical address in bytes.
For example, for Ethernet the value is 6.
Protocol Length
- This is an 8-bit field defining the length of
the logical address in bytes.
For example, for the IPv4 protocol the value
is 4.
 Contd...
Operation
- This is a 16-bit field defining the type of
packet.
Two packet types are defined.
ARP Request (1), ARP Reply (2)
Sender Hardware Address
- This is a variable length field defining the
physical address of the sender.
- For Ethernet this field is 6 bytes long.
 Contd...
Sender Protocol Address
- This is a variable length field defining the
logical address of the sender.
- For IPv4 protocol, this field is 4 bytes long.
Target Hardware Address
- This is a variable length field defining the
physical address of the target.
- For Ethernet this field is 6 bytes long.
 Contd...
Target Protocol Address
- This is a variable length field defining the
logical address of the target.
- For IPv4 protocol, this field is 4 bytes long.
P RARP
RARP finds the logical address for a machine that only
knows its physical address.
The RARP request packets are broadcast;
the RARP reply packets are unicast.
RARP Operation
RARP Packet
DHCP

◼ Dynamic Host Configuration

Protocol

◼ It is a method for assigning

Internet Protocol (IP) addresses
to individual computers in an
organization’s network

◼ DHCP lets a network

administrator supervise and
distribute IP addresses from a
central point and automatically
sends a new IP address when a
computer is plugged into a
different place in the network
Motivation for DHCP

◼ Configuration parameters for network

hosts
✓ IP address
✓ Router
✓ Subnet Mask
✓ Others..
Two types of IP Addresses

◼ DHCP is used to assign IP addresses to hosts or

workstations on the network
◼ Two types of IP addresses:
✓ Static
❖ Is a number that is assigned to a computer by an Internet
service provider (ISP) to be its permanent address on the
Internet
✓ Dynamic
❖ The temporary IP address is called a dynamic IP address
Need of DHCP
◼ Important when it comes to adding a machine to
a network
◼ When computer requests an address, the
administrator would have to manually configure
the machine
✓ Mistakes are easily made
✓ Causes difficulty for both administrator as well as
neighbors on the network
◼ DHCP solves all the hassle of manually adding a
machine to a network
Advantages of DHCP
◼ DHCP minimizes the administrative burden.

◼ By using DHCP there is no chance to conflict IP

address.
Disadvantages of DHCP

◼ When DHCP server is unavailable, client is unable to

access enterprises network
 Contd…

• Make it possible for a host to roam without

changing its address.

• Allow the protocol to evolve in the future.

• Permit the old and new protocols to coexist for

years.
 IPv6 Addresses
• An IPv6 address consists of 16 bytes (octets).
• It is 128-bit long.
• 128 bits = 16 bytes = 32 hex digits
• Example:
FDEC:BA987654:3210:ADBF:BBFF:2922:FFFF
 IPv6 Features
a) Longer address space 16 bytes or 128 bits.
b) Simplification of the header. It contains only seven fields. This
change allows routers to process packets faster and thus improve
throughput and delay.
c) Better support for options. This change was essential with the new
header because fields that previously were required are now
optional. The way options are represented is different making it
simple for routers to skip over options not intended for them. This
feature speeds up packet processing time.
d) IPv6 represents a big advance in security. Authentication and
privacy are key features of the new IP.
e) More attention has been paid to quality of service.
The Main IPv6 Header

The IPv6 fixed header (required).

These fields are as follows:
Version: This 4-bit field define the version
number of the IP.
For IPv6, the value is 6.
Priority: The 4-bit priority field defines the
priority of the packet with respect to traffic
congestion.
Flow Label: The flow label is a 24-bit field that
is designed to provide special handling for a
particular flow of data.
 Contd...
Payload length: The 16-bit payload length field
defines the length of the IP datagram
excluding the base header.

Next Header: The next header is an 8-bit field

defining the header that follows the base
header in the datagram.

Hop Limit: This 8-bit hop limit field serves the

same purpose as the TTL field in IPv4.
 Contd...
Source Address: The source address field is a
128-bit Internet address that identifies the
original source of the datagram.

Destination Address: The destination address

field is s 128-bit Internet address that usually
identifies the final destination of the datagram.
 Internet Control Message Protocol
• The operation of the Internet is monitored closely by the
routers.
• When something unexpected occurs the event is reported by the
ICMP which is also used to test the Internet.
• About a dozen types ICMP messages are defined.
• Destination unreachable:
• Message is used when the subnet or a router cannot
locate the destination or when a packet with the DF
bit cannot be delivered because a small packet
network stands in the way.
 Internet Control Message Protocol
• Time Exceeded:
• Message is sent when a packet is dropped because its counter
has reached zero.
• This event is a symptom that packets are looping that there is
enormous congestion.
• Parameter Problem:
• Message indicates that an illegal has been detected in a
header field.
• Source Quench:
• Message was formerly used to throttle host that were sending
too many packets.
• When a host received this message it was expected to slow
down.
 Internet Control Message Protocol
• Redirect:
• Message is used when a router notices that a packet
seems to be routed wrong.
• It is used by the router to tell the sending host
about the probable error.
• Echo and Echo reply:
• Message are used to see is a given destination is
reachable and alive.
• Upon receiving the ECHO message the destination
expected to send ECHO REPLY.
 Tunneling
• The source and destination hosts are on the same type of
network but there is a different network in between.
• The solution to this problem is technique called tunneling.
• To send an IP packet to host 2 to host 1 constructs the packet
containing the IP address of host 2 insert it into an Ethernet
frame addressed to the Paris multiprotocol router and put it on
the Ethernet.
• When the multiprotocol router gets the frame it removes the IP
packet inserts it in the payload field of the WAN network layer
and addresses the latter to the WAN address of the London
multiprotocol router.
• When it gets there the London router removes the IP packet and
sends it to host 2 inside an Ethernet frame.
 Tunneling

Tunneling a packet from Paris to London.