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AIS V3.3 Protocol Config Ref Vol 1


Configuring and Monitoring ARP

This chapter describes how to configure and monitor ARP protocol activity and how to use the ARP monitoring commands. It includes the following sections:


Accessing the ARP Configuration Environment

For information on how to access the ARP configuration environment, see"Getting Started" in Access Integration Services Software User's Guide.

Use the following procedure to access the ARP configuration process.

  1. At the OPCON prompt, enter talk 6. (For more details on this command, refer to "The OPCON Process and Commands"in Access Integration Services Software User's Guide.) For example:
        * talk 6
        Config>
     
    

    After you enter the talk 6 command, the CONFIG prompt (Config>) displays on the terminal. If the prompt does not appear when you first enter configuration, press Return again.

  2. At the CONFIG prompt, enter the prot arp command to get to the ARP Config> prompt.

ARP and Inverse ARP Configuration Commands

This section describes the ARP configuration commands. Table 38 lists the ARP configuration commands. You can access ARP configuration commands at the ARP config> prompt.

Table 38. ARP Configuration Commands Summary
 Command   Function 
? (Help) Displays all the commands available for this command level or lists the options for specific commands (if available). See "Getting Help".
 Add Entry   Add a MAC address translation entry. 
 Change Entry   Change a MAC address translation entry. 
 Delete Entry   Deletes a MAC address translation entry. 
 Disable Auto-refresh   Disable ARP auto-refresh. 
 Enable Auto-refresh   Enable ARP auto-refresh. 
 List   List ARP configuration data in SRAM. 
 Set   Set the usage and refreshes timeout values. 
Exit Returns you to the previous command level. See "Exiting a Lower Level Environment".

Add Entry

Use the add entry command to add a "static protocol-to-hardware address mapping" entry. This command is currently supported for IP addresses only.

Syntax:

add entry
ifc# prot-type prot-addr MAC-addr

ifc#
Valid values: Any defined interface

Default value: 0

prot-type
Valid values: Any protocol that ARP supports.

Default value: IP

prot-addr
Valid Values: Any valid IP address

Default Value: 0

MAC-addr
Valid Values: Any valid MAC address

Default Value: None

Example: add entry

            Interface Number [0]?
            Protocol [IP]?
            IP Address [0.0.0.0]?
            Mac Address []?

Change Entry

Use the change entry command to change a "static protocol-to-hardware address mapping" entry. This command is currently supported for IP addresses only. The hardware address parameter (MAC-addr) should be the address of the node being changed.

Syntax:

change entry
ifc# prot-type prot-addr MAC-addr

ifc#
Valid values: Any defined interface

Default value: 0

prot-type
Valid values: Any protocol that ARP supports.

Default value: IP

prot-addr
Valid Values: Any valid IP mask

Default Value: None

MAC-addr
Valid Values: Any valid MAC address

Default Value: None

Example: change entry

            Interface Number [0]?
            Protocol [IP]?
            IP Address [0.0.0.0]?
            Mac Address []?

Delete Entry

Use the delete entry command to delete a "static protocol-to-hardware address mapping" entry. This command is currently supported for IP addresses only.

Syntax:

delete entry
ifc# prot-type prot-addr

ifc#
Valid values: Any defined interface

Default value: 0

prot-type
Valid values: IP or IPX

Default value: IP

prot-addr
Valid Values: Any valid IP address

Default Value: 0.0.0.0

Example: delete entry

            Interface Number [0]?
            Protocol [IP]?
            IP Address [0.0.0.0]?

Disable Auto-Refresh

Use the disable auto-refresh command to disable the auto-refresh function. The auto-refresh function is the router's capability to send an ARP request based on the entry in the translation cache before the refresh timer expires. The request is sent directly to the hardware address in the current translation instead of a broadcast. If auto-refresh is disabled, no 'preemptive' ARP request is made, the refresh timer is allowed to expire, and the ARP translation is purged from the table. The next protocol packet to the destination protocol address will then cause a new ARP request to be broadcast on the network.

Syntax:

disable auto-refresh

Example: disable auto-refresh

Enable Auto-Refresh

Use the enable auto-refresh command to enable the auto-refresh function. The auto-refresh function is the router's capability to send an ARP request based on the entry in the translation cache before the refresh timer expires. The request is sent directly to the hardware address in the current translation instead of a broadcast.

Enabling auto-refresh could cause entries to be retained in the cache regardless of their usage. On networks with a large number of nodes, this can lead to an excessive number of entries in the cache, which might adversely affect router performance. However, on networks with a small number of nodes, this option is useful in reducing broadcast ARP traffic.

Syntax:

enable auto-refresh

Example: enable auto-refresh

List

Use the list command to display the contents of the router's ARP configuration as stored in SRAM. The list command displays the current timeout settings for the refresh and usage timer.

Syntax:

list
all
config
entry

all
Lists the ARP configuration followed by all of the ARP entries.

Example: list all

            ARP configuration:
 
            Refresh Timeout: 5 minutes
            Auto Refresh: disabled
 
            Mac address translation configuration
            IF #           Prot #         Protocol --> Mac Address
             0                0           2.2.2.1 --> 0000C90932EF

config
Lists the configuration for the different ARP parameters.

Example: list config

            ARP configuration:
 
            Refresh Timeout: 5 minutes
            Auto refresh: disabled

entry
Lists the ARP entries in SRAM.

Example: list entry

            Mac address translation configuration
 
            IF #           Prot #         Protocol --> Mac Address
             0                0           2.2.2.1 --> 0000C90932EF

Set

Use the set command to set an ARP configuration parameter.

Syntax:

set
refresh-timer

refresh-timer minutes
Changes the timeout value for the refresh timer.

To change the timeout value for the refresh timer, enter the timeout value in minutes. A setting of zero (0) turns off (disables) the refresh timer.

This timer is used in determining when an ARP translation cache entry is to be refreshed while auto-refresh is enabled, or purged while auto-refresh is disabled. Disabling the timer causes entries to be retained until a newly learned address translation causes entries to be removed, until entries are cleared manually with the ARP clear monitoring command, or until the router is restarted.

Valid Values: An integer number of minutes in the range of 0 to 65535

Default Value: 5 minutes

Example: set refresh-timer 3


Accessing the ARP Monitoring Environment

Use the following procedure to access the ARP monitoring commands. This process gives you access to the ARP monitoring process.

  1. At the OPCON prompt, enter talk 5. (For more detail on this command, refer to "The OPCON Process" in Access Integration Services Software User's Guide.) For example:
        * talk 5
        +
    

    After you enter the talk 5 command, the GWCON prompt (+) displays on the terminal. If the prompt does not appear when you first enter configuration, press Return again.

  2. At the + prompt, enter the protocol arp command to get you to the ARP> prompt.

    Example:

        + prot arp
        ARP>
     
    

ARP Monitoring Commands

This section describes the ARP monitoring commands. You can access ARP monitoring commands at the ARP> prompt. Table 39 shows the commands.

Table 39. ARP monitoring Commands
 Command   Function 
? (Help) Displays all the commands available for this command level or lists the options for specific commands (if available). See "Getting Help".
 Clear   Clear the cache for a specified interface. 
 Dump   Display the cache for a specified interface. 
 Hardware   List each ARP-configured network. 
 Ping   Verify connectivity between the device and the specified end station. 
 Protocol   List each ARP-configured protocol. 
 Statistics   Display ARP information. 
Exit Returns you to the previous command level. See "Exiting a Lower Level Environment".

Clear

Use the clear command to flush the ARP cache for a given network interface.

The clear command can be used to force the deletion of bad transactions.

To clear a particular interface, enter the interface or network number as part of the command. To obtain the interface number, use the CONFIG list devices command.

Syntax:

clear interface#

Example: clear 1

Dump

Use the dump command to display the ARP cache for a given network/protocol combination. To display the ARP cache for a particular interface, enter the interface or network number as part of the command. To obtain the interface number, use the CONFIG list devices command.

If there is more than one protocol on that network, the protocol number must also be given. This causes the monitoring to display the hardware address-to-protocol mappings stored in that database. If ARP is in use by only one protocol on the specified interface, then the protocol number is optional. To obtain the protocol number, use the CONFIG protocol command.

The dump command display shows the hardware address, the protocol address, and the refresh timer parameter for each mapping.

Syntax:

dump interface# protocol#

Example: dump 2 ip

            Hardware Address    IP Address      Refresh
            02-07-01-00-00-01   192.9.1.2       Permanent
            a1-b2-c3-4d-5e-6f   128.185.214.36  5
            100                 128.185.123.51  Not Aging
            16                  128.185.214.38  Not Aging

Valid refresh timer parameters are:

Permanent
A statically configured mapping between hardware address and protocol address (entered using the ARP add entry command, or the frame-relay add protocol command, or the X25 add address command). These entries do not age and are not overwritten by dynamically learned mappings.

minutes to expire
The number of minutes until this mapping expires due to aging or until this mapping is refreshed (if auto-refresh is enabled). This parameter is expressed as a numeric value.

Not Aging
A fixed SVC or PVC mapping learned through Inverse ARP. It begins to age only when the circuit goes down. The mapping can be overwritten by a newer learned address and can be cleared by the ARP clear monitoring command.

Hardware

Use the hardware command to display the networks registered with ARP. The hardware command lists each ARP-registered network, and displays each network's hardware address space (Hardware AS) and local hardware address.

Syntax:

hardware

Example: hardware

            Network       Hardware AS    Hardware Address
 
            1 FR/0          000F            1023
            5 TKR/0         0006            00:00:C9:09:32:EF
            8 Eth/0         0001            AA-00-04-00-26-14
            9 IPPN/0        2048            128.185.214.38
           10 BDG/0         0001            00-00-93-90-4C-F7
Note:The IPPN entry refers to IP Tunneling where the hardware address field indicates the IP address of the IP Tunnel.

Ping

Use the ping command to have the router send ICMP Echo Requests to a given destination. For more information on the ping command, see "Ping".

Protocol

Use the protocol command to display (by network) the protocols that have addresses registered with ARP. This command displays the network, protocol name, protocol number, protocol address space (in hexadecimal), and local protocol addresses.

Syntax:

protocol

Example: protocol

            Network  Protocol (num)  AS    Protocol Address(es)
            5 TKR/0  IP       (00)   800    128.185.209.38
            6 TKR/1  IP       (00)   800    10.1.181.38
            8 Eth/0  IP       (00)   800    128.185.221.38
            8 Eth/0  AP2      (22)   80F3   221/38
Note:SR entries refer to Source Routing - the protocol address is used to indicate the MAC address. Use the token-ring dump command to view actual RIF entries.

Statistics

Use the statistics command to display a variety of statistics about the operation of the ARP module.

Syntax:

statistics

Example: statistics

            ARP input packet overflows
            Net   Count
             PPP/0  0
             PPP/1  0
             TKR/0  0
            IPPN/0  0
             BDG/0  0
 
            ARP cache meters
            Net Prot  Max Cur Cnt    Alloc  Refresh: Tot  Failure  TMOs: Refresh
            0   0     1   1   1       17             0        0               13
            0  22     1   0   0        6             0        0                6
            1   0     1   1   2       27             0        0               25
            1  16     3   3   7      291             0        0                0
            2   0     1   0   0        2             0        0                2
            2  16     1   0   0        1             0        0                0
            8   0     1   1   1       11             0        0               10

 ARP input packet overflows   Displays counters that represent the number of ARP packets discarded on input because the ARP layer was too busy. The counts shown are per network interface. 
 ARP cache meters   Consists of a variety of meters on the operation of the ARP cache. The counts shown are all per protocol, per interface. 
 Net   Displays the interface numbers. 
 Prot   Displays the protocol numbers. 
 Max   Displays the all-time maximum length hash chain. 
 Cur   Displays the current maximum length hash chain. 
 Cnt   Displays the count of entries currently active. 
 Alloc   Displays the count of entries created. 
 Rfrsh:Tot   Displays the number of refresh requests sent for this network interface and protocol. 
 Fail   Displays the number of auto-refresh attempt failures due to unavailability of internal resources. This count is not related to whether or not an entry was refreshed. 
 TMOs:Rfrsh   Displays the count of entries deleted due to a timeout of the refresh timer. 


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