> >May I suggest a different solution:  change the syntax of the file arp
> >reads, i.e.
> >hostname * [temp] [pub]
> >   will use /etc/ethers to lookup the ether address for `hostname' or
even
> >hostname ethername [temp] [pub]
> >   will lookup `ethername' in /etc/ethers and use the ether address found
> >for `hostname'
>
> It would be poor to break ethers(5) compatibility with other OSes.

huh?  I'm talking about the file which is read by arp.  My suggestion breaks
the compatibility for this file.  I think that's reasonable since it's not a
file you're going to share between hosts, unlike /etc/ethers.

    christian