3Com 2500 manual statically-assigned 48-bit addresses used by Ethernet and token ring

Administering the AARP Cache 12-7

Administering AARP allows hardware addresses to be mapped to an AppleTalk protocol the AARP Cache address. AppleTalk uses dynamically assigned 24-bit addresses, unlike the

statically-assigned 48-bit addresses used by Ethernet and token ring.

To make the address mapping process easier, AARP uses an Address Mapping Table (AMT). The most recently used addresses are maintained in the AMT. If an address is not in the AMT, AARP sends a request to the desired protocol address and the hardware address is added to the table when the destination node replies.

AARP is also responsible for registering a node’s dynamically assigned address on the network. This process is described below:

■AARP randomly assigns an address.

■AARP broadcasts AARP probe packets to this address to determine if another node is already using the address.

■If there is no reply, the address becomes that node’s address.

■If there is a reply, AARP repeats this process until an available address is discovered.

In the Administration Console, you can:

■Display the cache

■Remove entries

■Flush the cache