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ARP table in routers vs the one in Windows

huyan
Level 1
Level 1

Hi,

I just know that we can view ARP table in Windows by using arp -a command. I wonder why Windows have ARP table? I thought ARP table is only for routers and L3 Switch?

Thank you for your help.

 

Huy.

 

1 Accepted Solution

Accepted Solutions

Jon Marshall
Hall of Fame
Hall of Fame

 

They have an arp table for the same reason as routers, switches etc. ie. they need to map IP addresses to the mac addresses so they can communicate with other devices. 

 

A PC or server usually only has entries for other devices on the same subnet and it's default gateway unlike L3 devices which have entries for multiple subnets but they all have those tables.

 

Jon

View solution in original post

3 Replies 3

Jon Marshall
Hall of Fame
Hall of Fame

 

They have an arp table for the same reason as routers, switches etc. ie. they need to map IP addresses to the mac addresses so they can communicate with other devices. 

 

A PC or server usually only has entries for other devices on the same subnet and it's default gateway unlike L3 devices which have entries for multiple subnets but they all have those tables.

 

Jon

Hi Jon,
Thank you for your help!

As Jon describes "They have an arp table for the same reason as routers, switches etc."

Some additional information, which you may, or may not, find helpful . . .

The reason for an ARP table/cache is to avoid the need to ARP for a destination IP's MAC. Generally, ARP table/cache entries are only retained for some period of time (often configurable). When the ARP entry expires, the host will once again ARP and load an ARP entry into the ARP table/cache. (If a destination IP's MAC changes, a host will send the frame to the wrong MAC unless it somehow "knows" of the change. When this happens, you need to flush the ARP cache.) (BTW, it's often also possible to sometimes load an ARP table/cache with manual entries, which do not time out.)

Jon also notes a PC/Server host usually only has ARP entries for one subnet and a gateway, while L3 devices have entries for multiple networks. That's true, it's generally as simple as the host has ARP entries for all IPs it has been {recently) sending traffic to. As L3 devices often have interfaces in multiple networks, the ARP cache reflects that. A PC or server host, if also having multiple network connected interfaces (i.e. multi-homed), ARP cache may also appear more like a L3 device.
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