The IP address is also referred to as the network layer or the layer responsible for forwarding packets of data through different routers. ARP works between these layers. The MAC address is also known as the data link layer, which establishes and terminates a connection between two physically connected devices so that data transfer can take place. This can be helpful in determining which layer affects which application, device, or software installed on the network, and further, which IT or engineering professional is responsible for managing that layer. First developed in the late 1970s, the OSI model uses layers to give IT teams a visualization of what is going on with a particular networking system. There is a networking model known as the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model. ARP translates the 32-bit address to 48 and vice versa. The most used IP today is IP version 4 (IPv4). This mapping procedure is important because the lengths of the IP and MAC addresses differ, and a translation is needed so that the systems can recognize one another. Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) is a protocol or procedure that connects an ever-changing Internet Protocol (IP) address to a fixed physical machine address, also known as a media access control (MAC) address, in a local-area network (LAN).
