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Introduction
6
ICMP Messages
Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) messages are used to perform station and router protocol participation. ICMP
messages are passed between routers, or between routers and stations. There are several different messages, as discussed
below.
Unreachable
The “unreachable” message is sent back to the originating station when the path to the destination network has
disappeared. A destination network may be unreachable because of a broken link, a downed router, a downed
station, or other reasons.
Redirect
The “redirect” message is sent to the originating station when there is a better router to use to reach the destination
network. Because the routers share routing tables, each router has the ability to determine whether it is the best
router to use for network traffic. Once a station receives a redirect, all future IP frames destined for the particular
destination network will be sent to the new router.
Quench
The “quench” message is sent to the originating station when the path to the destination network has become
congested. The originating station will slow down the rate of transmission of frames for an internally (to the station)
predetermined period of time upon receiving a quench message.
Ping
The “ping” message is actually a query status message that may be sent to devices on the LAN to query their
operation status. The ping message is basically a message asking “Are you alive?” The LAN device will reply with a
message if it is active.
Time and Mask server
Two other ICMP messages are used to query the time and/or subnet mask from a particular LAN device. A message
is sent to a LAN device asking for the time or mask, and the device replies appropriately.