ARP and RARP Compared
The RARP process and the ARP process are both concerned with IP to MAC address mappings. In addition, they use the same packet format and utilize broadcast addresses.
While they share similarities, they do have differences:
- ARP is concerned with obtaining the MAC address of other clients by using an IP address, but RARP obtains the IP address of the local host (source) by using the local host’s MAC address.
- Computers broadcast ARP packets on the local network by using the broadcast MAC address, but RARP also uses the broadcast IP address.
- The local host maintains the ARP table. A RARP server maintains the RARP table.
- The local host uses an ARP reply to update its ARP table and to send packets to the destination. The RARP reply is used to configure the IP protocol on the local host.