Next-hop resolution protocol

This paper describes the next hop resolution protocol (NHRP), and its use in the deployment over non-broadcast multi-access (NBMA) networks with particular emphasis on NHRP's use with IP over ATM campus networks. NHRP allows a host or router to determine the 'best' next hop at the egress of an NBMA cloud toward a final destination. NHRP differs from traditional ARP- like mechanisms in that NHRP will return information that may permit the creation of a cut-through connection across multiple IP subnets and thus would bypass the associated router hops. This bypassing of intermediate routers should cause a net decrease in delay and delay variation since fewer protocol layers of the intervening nodes would potentially have to access the data carried on those connections. Note that while this protocol was developed for use with NBMA subnetworks, it is possible, if not likely, that it will be applied to BMA subnetworks as well. However, this usage of NHRP is for further study. Further, while this paper emphasizes IP networks, NHRP is built to be multi-protocol at the network layer.