866dd9dc   
   XPost: comp.arch.embedded, sci.electronics.design   
   From: gah@ugcs.caltech.edu   
      
   In comp.protocols.tcp-ip Albert Manfredi  wrote:   
   (snip)   
      
   > True. ARP is network-agnostic. It happens to have been used in IP nets   
   > most often, but that does not mean that it can ONLY be used to resolve   
   > IP addresses to physical addresses. It could in principle have been   
   > used for DECnet or any of those other forgotten protocols.   
      
   Make that should have been used for DECnet.  As I remember,   
   DECnet changes the MAC address based on the DECnet address, such   
   that no ARP is needed.  You can only do that for one protocol   
   per interface, though.   
      
   There was not so long ago on another newsgroup someone who   
   had a system that uses DHCP to assign the IP address, then   
   brings up DECnet.  Somehow the change of MAC address confused   
   other parts of the system.   
      
   Then Appletalk has AARP instead of using ARP.   
      
   I don't know IPX very well, so I don't know what it does.   
      
   -- glen   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
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