RFC 1293 (rfc1293) - Page 1 of 6

Inverse Address Resolution Protocol

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Network Working Group                                         T. Bradley
Request for Comments: 1293                                      C. Brown
                                          Wellfleet Communications, Inc.
                                                            January 1992

                  Inverse Address Resolution Protocol

1.  Status of this Memo

   This RFC specifies an IAB standards track protocol for the Internet
   community, and requests discussion and suggestions for improvements.
   Please refer to the current edition of the "IAB Official Protocol
   Standards" for the standardization state and status of this protocol.
   Distribution of this memo is unlimited.

2.  Abstract

   This memo describes additions to ARP that will allow a station to
   request a protocol address corresponding to a given hardware address.
   Specifically, this applies to Frame Relay stations that may have a
   Data Link Connection Identifier (DLCI), the Frame Relay equivalent of
   a hardware address, associated with an established Permanent Virtual
   Circuit (PVC), but do not know the protocol address of the station on
   the other side of this connection.  It will also apply to other
   networks with similar circumstances.

3.  Conventions

   The following language conventions are used in the items of
   specification in this document:

     o Must, Will, Shall or Mandatory -- the item is an absolute
       requirement of the specification.

     o Should or Recommended -- the item should generally be
       followed for all but exceptional circumstances.

     o May or Optional -- the item is truly optional and may be
       followed or ignored according to the needs of the
       implementor.

4.  Introduction

   This document will rely heavily on Frame Relay as an example of how
   the Inverse Address Resolution Protocol (InARP) can be useful. It is
   not, however, intended that InARP be used exclusively with Frame
   Relay.  InARP may be used in any network that provides destination
   hardware addresses without indicating corresponding protocol



Bradley, Brown
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