Enable Gratuitous ARP on Management Interface

A Gratuitous ARP is an Address Resolution Protocol response that is sent without an ARP request. The Gratuitous ARP response is sent as a broadcast in the network. It is a mechanism by which a device can announce or update its IP address to MAC address mapping. This helps the neighboring devices to discover the device that has sent the Gratuitous ARP response and forward subsequent packets to the device without any delay.

You can enable the Gratuitous ARP on the management interface of a GigaVUE H Series or GigaVUE TA Series device. Ensure that the management interface is configured with static IP address. A Gratuitous ARP response is sent to the network when:

  • the device boots up.
  • the IP address of the device changes.
  • the link state of the management interface comes up.

Note:  You cannot enable Gratuitous ARP on the management interface that is configured with DHCP.

To enable Gratuitous ARP on a management interface:

  1. On the left navigation pane, click on and select Nodes.
  2. Click on a node on which you want to enable Gratuitous ARP. The Overview page of the node appears.
  3. In the left navigation pane, select Settings > Interface > Protocol Configuration.
  4. Select the box ID on which you want to enable Gratuitous ARP, and then click Edit.
  5. Select the Gratuitous ARP check box.
  6. Click Save. The Gratuitous ARP is enabled on the management interface of the device.