When an L2 destination cannot be resolved, the real sidecar code emits either a SC_ARP_NEEDED (IPv4) or an SC_NEIGHBOR_NEEDED (IPv6) packet to the host, causing dpd to issue ARP or NDP requests which, if successful, result in host OS ARP or NDP table entries that are then synchronized back down to the ASIC via tfportd.
This is critical for static routing setups that do not have the benefit of a dynamic routing protocol keeping the resolver tables warm. Otherwise, we're left with manually maintaining static routing entries.