What part does ARP play in the routing process?

The Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) is essential in the routing process because it resolves IP addresses to their corresponding MAC (Media Access Control) addresses within a local network. When a router needs to forward packets to a device on the same subnet, it uses ARP to find the MAC address associated with the destination IP address. Once the MAC address is obtained, the router can encapsulate the packet in a frame and send it to the correct hardware address, enabling efficient communication within the network. Thus, ARP facilitates the link layer's interaction with the network layer in the routing process.