DUPLICATE IGNORE DELAY TIMER FOR ARP LIKE PROTOCOL MESSAGES USING ARE PROTOCOL

A router transmits an ARP Explorer request packet onto a subnetwork in order to learn the route (RIF information) from the router to an end station. The end station receives a plurality of ARP Explorer request packets from the router because of multiple paths in an SRB network, and the end station transmits an ARP Explorer response packet in response to each ARP Explorer request packet received. The invention adopts the path of the first ARP Explorer response packet received by the router from the end station for the RIF information from the router to the end station, and uses a “duplicate ignore” timer in order to avoid freezing this route into the router tables. The timer begins running upon receipt of the first ARP Explorer response packet, and expires after an “update time interval”. No further ARP Explorer response packet is processed until after expiration of the update time interval.