RARPD(8C)

NAME
rarpd - TCP/IP Reverse Address Resolution Protocol server

SYNOPSIS
/usr/etc/rarpd interface [ hostname ]

/usr/etc/rarpd -a

AVAILABILITY

This program is available with the Networking software installation option. Refer to for information on how to install optional software.

DESCRIPTION

rarpd starts a daemon that responds to Reverse Address Resolution Protocol (RARP) requests. The daemon forks a copy of itself that runs in background. It must be run as root.

RARP is used by machines at boot time to discover their Internet Protocol (IP) address. The booting machine provides its Ethernet Address in an RARP request message. Using the “ethers” and “hosts” databases, rarpd maps this Ethernet Address into the corresponding IP address which it returns to the booting machine in an RARP reply message. The booting machine must be listed in both databases for rarpd to locate its IP address. rarpd issues no reply when it fails to locate an IP address. The “ethers” and “hosts” databases may be contained either in files under /etc or in Network Information Service (NIS) maps.

In the first synopsis, the interface parameter names the network interface upon which rarpd is to listen for requests. The interface parameter takes the “name unit” form used by ifconfig(8C). The second argument, hostname, is used to obtain the IP address of that interface. An IP address in “decimal dot” notation may be used for hostname. If hostname is omitted, the address of the interface will be obtained from the kernel. When the first form of the command is used, rarpd must be run separately for each interface on which RARP service is to be supported. A machine that is a router may invoke rarpd multiple times, for example:

    /usr/etc/rarpd ie0 host
    /usr/etc/rarpd ie1 host-backbone

In the second synopsis, rarpd locates all of the network interfaces present on the system and starts a daemon process for each one that supports RARP.

FILES
/etc/ethers
/etc/hosts

SEE ALSO
ethers(5), hosts(5), policies(5), boot(8S), ifconfig(8C), ipallocd(8C), netconfig(8C)

Finlayson, Ross, Timothy Mann, Jeffrey Mogul, and Marvin Theimer, A Reverse Address Resolution Protocol, RFC 903, Network Information Center, SRI International, Menlo Park, Calif., June 1984.

NOTES

The Network Information Service (NIS) was formerly known as Sun Yellow Pages (YP). The functionality of the two remains the same; only the name has changed.