Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sol.ctr.columbia.edu!ucselx!bionet!agate!ucbvax!LCS.MIT.EDU!MAP
From: MAP@LCS.MIT.EDU (Michael A. Patton)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.tcp-ip
Subject: convert Ethernet numbers into ASCII text
Message-ID: <9104201030.AA26256@gaak.LCS.MIT.EDU>
Date: 20 Apr 91 10:30:52 GMT
References: <9104191903.AA21173@hitl.vrnet.washington.edu>
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 22

A simple way to get this list is:

	1) Find a unix system on the same wire
	2) Ping each of the hosts (once should be enough, i.e. "ping -n1")
	3) Type the command /etc/arp -a

You should get back a list of names, IP addresses, and Ethernet
addresses.  There, wasn't that simple?  Now for the hard question, are
you going to remember to do this every time any machine on your subnet
has maintenance performed on it?  That can change the Ethernet
address.  I can't tell you how many times someone tracking a problem
with numbers only got misled by using an out-of-date list, and you
often can't generate a new one if the network has problems you're
trying to fix.

            __
  /|  /|  /|  \         Michael A. Patton, Network Manager
 / | / | /_|__/         Laboratory for Computer Science
/  |/  |/  |atton       Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are a figment of the phosphor
on your screen and do not represent the views of MIT, LCS, or MAP. :-)