[ale] OT: Are devices allowed to update their ARP caches from non-ARP packets?

[jknapka at kneuro.net (Joe Knapka)]

Hi everyone,

I have encountered a situation where a network device is updating its
ARP cache in response to an application message which is not an ARP
packet.  What I need to know is, is this allowed behavior according to
the relevant standards and RFCs? I read RFCs 826 (ARP) and 894
(IP-over-Ethernet), and they seem to have nothing to say about this
particular issue. Can anyone point me to a document that explicitly
condones or prohibits this behavior?

Thanks,

-- Joe Knapka