What does ARP stand for in networking?

ARP stands for Address Resolution Protocol. It is a crucial network protocol used in IP networking to map an IP address to a physical machine address that is recognized in the local area network, also known as a MAC (Media Access Control) address. When a device wants to communicate over a local network, it needs to know the MAC address corresponding to the IP address it intends to send data to. ARP facilitates this by broadcasting a request over the network to discover the MAC address associated with the desired IP address. The device that has that IP address then responds with its MAC address, allowing the original device to send packets to it.

Understanding ARP is essential for network configuration and troubleshooting because it operates at the link layer (Layer 2) of the OSI model, directly impacting how devices communicate within a network segment. Knowing how ARP functions can help network professionals ensure efficient and effective communication between systems in local networks.