How does an AVG respond to ARP requests in GLBP?

In Gateway Load Balancing Protocol (GLBP), the Active Virtual Gateway (AVG) plays a crucial role in managing ARP requests. When a device sends an ARP request to determine the MAC address of a virtual gateway, the AVG responds not with its own MAC address, but rather with one of the Virtual MAC addresses (VMACs) assigned to the Active Virtual Forwarders (AVFs) in the GLBP group.

This behavior allows GLBP to effectively load balance the traffic across multiple routers while ensuring redundancy. By responding with a VMAC, the AVG facilitates traffic distribution across multiple gateways. Each AVF responds to ARP requests with its own VMAC, thus distributing the load among the AVFs. This dynamic allocation of VMACs is a key feature of GLBP that enhances fault tolerance and improves bandwidth utilization within the network.

The other options do not accurately reflect the operation of GLBP with respect to ARP responses. Using the AVG's MAC address would limit the redundancy GLBP seeks to achieve. Static replies or dropping requests would not facilitate the load balancing and redundancy that GLBP is designed to provide. Thus, responding with one of the AVF VMACs is the appropriate and functional method by which the AVG handles ARP