Re: [2.4 PATCH] bugfix: ARP respond on all devices

[Bas Bloemsaat]

> Proxy ARP only.
>
> >    A.3.  ARP datagram
> >
> >       An ARP reply is discarded if the destination IP address does not
> >       match the local host address.
>
> Linux counts all the IP addresses it has as being local host address.
>
> And Linux btw has arpfilter which can do far more than just imitate your
> favourite network religion of the week
>

I think the whole mess comes from the ambigious use of the word host in RFC
826, and several possible interpretations. It can mean both ethernet host
(i.e. a NIC) or internet host (i.e. the whole server). This isn't clear from
the RFC. In fact, the meanings are mixed. It's not a good RFC.

The linux way is a perfectly legal, if somewhat awkward, way to interpret
the RFC. Me too, I'd like a device respond only to ARP requests that are
meant for an IP bound to it, but please, let's not turn this into a holy
war.

Regards,
Bas


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