IP Routing Features

Configuring IP Parameters for Routing Switches

 

HPswitch(config)# ip router-id 209.157.22.26

 

Syntax: Syntax: ip router-id <ip-addr>

 

The <ip-addr>can be any valid, unique IP address.

 

 

N o t e

You can specify an IP address used for an interface on the HP routing switch,

 

but do not specify an IP address in use by another device.

 

 

Configuring ARP Parameters

Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) is a standard IP protocol that enables an IP routing switch to obtain the MAC address of another device’s interface when the routing switch knows the IP address of the interface. ARP is enabled by default and cannot be disabled.

How ARP Works

A routing switch needs to know a destination’s MAC address when forwarding traffic, because the routing switch encapsulates the IP packet in a Layer 2 packet (MAC layer packet) and sends the Layer 2 packet to a MAC interface on a device directly attached to the routing switch. The device can be the packet’s final destination or the next-hop router toward the destination.

The routing switch encapsulates IP packets in Layer 2 packets regardless of whether the ultimate destination is locally attached or is multiple router hops away. Since the routing switch’s IP route table and IP forwarding cache contain IP address information but not MAC address information, the routing switch cannot forward IP packets based solely on the information in the route table or forwarding cache. The routing switch needs to know the MAC address that corresponds with the IP address of either the packet’s locally attached destination or the next-hop router that leads to the destination.

For example, to forward a packet whose destination is multiple router hops away, the routing switch must send the packet to the next-hop router toward its destination, or to a default route or default network route if the IP route table does not contain a route to the packet’s destination. In each case, the routing switch must encapsulate the packet and address it to the MAC address of a locally attached device, the next-hop router toward the IP packet’s destination.

To obtain the MAC address required for forwarding a datagram, the routing switch does the following:

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