As we all know, the function of the ARP protocol is to translate an IP address to its corresponding MAC address. By doing so, the devices are able to communicate effectively in a LAN-based network. Any device that wishes to get connected with the other device on the same network requires the MAC address of the other hosts. Every OS maintains a list of communicating devices that can be populated in the terminal window using the arp –a command. The same command is used on every platform. We have also seen the ARP requests and reply packets that are used by the devices connected to the local network to gain the MAC addresses of other devices.

For instance, I have a local network too, which is being governed by the router (gateway) located at 192.168.1.1, and there are 3 devices connected to it. The following table lists all the required information specific to the devices connected, which we will use later: