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arp(8)

NAME

arp - Displays and controls Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) tables

SYNOPSIS

/usr/sbin/arp [-u] hostname arp -a [-u] [-n] [system] arp -d hostname arp -f filename arp -g hostname arp -s [-u] hostname hardware_addr [temp] [pub] [trail]

FLAGS

-a Displays all of the current ARP entries. -d hostname Deletes the entry for hostname if the user issuing the command has superuser authority. -f filename Reads entries from filename and adds those entries to the ARP tables. Use of this flag requires superuser privilege. Entries in the file have the following format: hostname hardware_addr [temp] [pub] [trail] Fields in this format are as follows: hostname Specifies the remote host identified by the entry. hardware_addr Specifies the hardware address of the remote host. The address is given as 6 hexadecimal bytes separated by colons. temp Specifies that this ARP table entry is temporary. When this argument is not used, the table entry is permanent. pub Indicates that the table entry will be published and that the current system will act as an ARP server, responding to requests for hostname even though the host address is not its own. trail Indicates that the trailer encapsulation may be sent to this host. -n Displays numeric IP addresses and hardware addresses only. When this flag is not specified, arp displays hostnames, numeric IP addresses, and hardware addresses. -g hostname Sends a gratuitous ARP packet. The hostname can be a local host name, alias, or IP address. -s hostname hardware_addr [temp] [pub] [trail] Creates a single ARP entry for hostname. Use of this flag requires superuser privilege. The arguments are explained in the discussion of the -f flag. [-u] Displays the MAC address in noncanonical form with address bytes reversed and separated by a colon character (:). By default, all addresses are displayed in canonical form with address bytes separated by the hyphen character (-). When used with the -s flag, this indicates that the hardware_addr is in noncanonical form.

DESCRIPTION

The arp command displays or modifies the current ARP entry for the host specified by hostname. The host may be specified by name or number, using Internet dot notation. With no flags, the program displays the current ARP entry for hostname. The ARP tables can be displayed by any user, but only the superuser can modify them.

EXAMPLES

1. To display the ARP address-mapping tables for the local host that has one interface defined, enter: arp -a alpha1.dec.com (16.181.20.2) at 08-00-2b-2c-f5-31 alpha2.dec.com (16.100.21.20) at 08-00-2b-3c-2d-fd 2. To add a single entry for the remote host laszlo to the ARP mapping tables temporarily, enter: arp -s laszlo 08:00:2b:0f:44:23 temp The address is considered canonical even though the bytes are separated by colons. For input, the arp command does not use the colon (:) and hyphen (-) characters to indicate whether the address is canonical or noncanonical. Note that you must have superuser authority to execute this command. 3. To add a single entry for the remote host laszlo to the ARP mapping tables temporarily, enter: arp -u -s laszlo 10:00:d4:f0:22:c4 temp The -u flag indicates the address is noncanonical. Note that you must have superuser authority to execute this command. 4. To add multiple entries to the ARP mapping tables from the file newentries, enter: arp -f newentries Note that you must have superuser authority to execute this command.

FILES

/usr/sbin/arp Specifies the command path.

RELATED INFORMATION

Commands: netstat(1), ifconfig(8) Protocols: arp(7) Specifications: RFC 826

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