rarpd(1M)                        (TCP/IP)                         rarpd(1M)


   NAME
         rarpd - DARPA Reverse Address Resolution Protocol server

   SYNOPSIS
         rarpd interface [ hostname ]

         /usr/sbin/rarpd -a

   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 a 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.

         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(1M).  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/sbin/rarpd 3740 host
               /usr/sbin/rarpd 3741 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
         ifconfig(1M), ethers(4), hosts(4), netconfig(4), boot(8).

         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.



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