What is Address Resolution Protocol?
Address Resolution Protocol Definition: Is used at the Media Access Control (MAC) Layer to provide for direct communication between two devices within the same LAN segment.
Understanding Address Resolution Protocol
Is used at the Media Access Control Layer to provide for direct communication between two devices within the same LAN segment. ARP resolves IPv4 addresses to MAC addresses by broadcasting requests and storing responses in a local cache. This protocol operates at the data link layer of the OSI model and is essential for local network communications. ARP can be vulnerable to attacks such as ARP spoofing, where attackers falsify ARP messages to intercept network traffic. Organizations implement ARP inspection, static ARP entries, and network segmentation to protect against these vulnerabilities. For example, when a computer needs to communicate with another device on the same network, it uses ARP to determine the hardware address of the destination device. Related terms: MAC address, IPv4, Network security, ARP cache poisoning, Data link layer.