Which protocol is used to resolve IP addresses to MAC addresses in a local area network?

Which protocol is used to resolve IP addresses to MAC addresses in a local area network?

• A. DNS
• B. ARP
• C. ICMP
• D. HTTP

Answer: (B)

The protocol used to resolve IP addresses to MAC addresses in a local area network is ARP, which stands for Address Resolution Protocol. This protocol operates at the Link Layer of the OSI model and is essential for enabling communication between devices on a local network. When a device wants to communicate with another device on the same local network and knows the IP address but not the MAC address, it sends out an ARP request. This request is a broadcast to all devices in the local segment, asking "Who has this IP address?" The device that owns the IP address responds with its MAC address in an ARP reply. This process allows the originating device to build a mapping from the IP address to the corresponding MAC address, enabling successful data transmission at the data link layer. Other protocols mentioned serve different functions. DNS (Domain Name System) is used for translating human-readable domain names into IP addresses, not MAC addresses. ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol) is primarily used for sending error messages and operational information, such as when a host is unreachable. HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) is a protocol for transferring hypertext requests and data, used for web communication, and does not involve address resolution tasks. Thus, the correct choice for resolving IP to MAC

The protocol used to resolve IP addresses to MAC addresses in a local area network is ARP, which stands for Address Resolution Protocol. This protocol operates at the Link Layer of the OSI model and is essential for enabling communication between devices on a local network.

When a device wants to communicate with another device on the same local network and knows the IP address but not the MAC address, it sends out an ARP request. This request is a broadcast to all devices in the local segment, asking "Who has this IP address?" The device that owns the IP address responds with its MAC address in an ARP reply. This process allows the originating device to build a mapping from the IP address to the corresponding MAC address, enabling successful data transmission at the data link layer.

Other protocols mentioned serve different functions. DNS (Domain Name System) is used for translating human-readable domain names into IP addresses, not MAC addresses. ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol) is primarily used for sending error messages and operational information, such as when a host is unreachable. HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) is a protocol for transferring hypertext requests and data, used for web communication, and does not involve address resolution tasks. Thus, the correct choice for resolving IP to MAC