[wplug] Clearing arp cache

[Poyner, Brandon]

It's completely possible, looking at the arp.c sources from FreeBSD and
net-tools (Linux), to make arp -d -a work in Linux.  However I suspect
the real reason it hasn't been implemented in net-tools' arp is because
there is another command to flush the arp cache:

	ip neigh flush all

Brandon Poyner
Network Engineer II
CCAC - College Office
412-237-3086


-----Original Message-----
From: Vanco, Don [mailto:don.vanco at agilysys.com] 
Sent: Wednesday, July 14, 2004 1:11 PM
To: General user list
Subject: RE: [wplug] Clearing arp cache


>-----Original Message-----
>From: wplug-bounces+don.vanco=agilysys.com at wplug.org 
>[mailto:wplug-bounces+don.vanco=agilysys.com at wplug.org] On 
>Behalf Of Poyner, Brandon
>Sent: Wednesday, July 14, 2004 9:30 AM
>To: General user list
>Subject: RE: [wplug] Clearing arp cache
>
>
>It's not that the Linux arp command couldn't clear all the arp 
>cache entries, they just don't give you that option (i.e.: you 
>could modify the source code and make it happen easily 
>enough). I guess they figure since the arp cache times out 
>after some 3 minutes and arp broadcasts are a continual 
>process it's not worth the effort.  
	I don't agree - I have long wished for this feature under Linux
(having needed it extensively under Solaris), and no one has ever
bothered to code it.  Working on "networks under development" perhaps my
user experience is something of an anomaly, but I really hate having to
nuke arp entries individually.  If you deal with a heavily used PXE
environment this kind of functionality can really be a "must have" if
network services are "in flux".  
	I have the feeling the issue is far more complex, and no one to
date has found a reliable means to add this functionality to the Linux
arp command.  If the maintainers if this package are _that_ busy that
they can't add a simple flush it's too bad that someone else doesn't
take over the code.....

Don


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