What is MAC address
by Stephen Think
As nowadays more and more people start up using Wireless Networks and fixed Ethernet connection instead of DSL people start asking me the question about MAC addresses. In this article I will try to provide brief explanation of what a MAC address is.
MAC stands for Media Access Control. It is a unique identifier for most network adapters from their manufacturer.
The MAC address is a 12 digit code in hexadecimal format. An example is 11-22-33-AA-BB-CC. First six symbols are predefined by manufacturer. Every company that produces network adapters has its unique six digits. The other six digits are just unique for the network adapter by that producer. The goal is that there is no pair of network components with identical MAC addresses. The 12 digits code is burned-in on the network adapter chips and it cannot be changed. Yes , there are ways that you can spoof it on operating system level but the 'real' MAC address is permanent and if you put the network adapter in another computer it will work with its original MAC.
A different way to present the MAC address of a network adapter is by using the manufacturer name and the rest of the six digits. Example Cisco_EC:4C:4D
MAC address is most widely used in network switches to determine the route to which to direct packets. This happens on Layer two of the OSI network model.
There is a detailed article by my colleague Alex Plumpton about how Network Routing works. You can check it out here : How routers work
MAC stands for Media Access Control. It is a unique identifier for most network adapters from their manufacturer.
The MAC address is a 12 digit code in hexadecimal format. An example is 11-22-33-AA-BB-CC. First six symbols are predefined by manufacturer. Every company that produces network adapters has its unique six digits. The other six digits are just unique for the network adapter by that producer. The goal is that there is no pair of network components with identical MAC addresses. The 12 digits code is burned-in on the network adapter chips and it cannot be changed. Yes , there are ways that you can spoof it on operating system level but the 'real' MAC address is permanent and if you put the network adapter in another computer it will work with its original MAC.
A different way to present the MAC address of a network adapter is by using the manufacturer name and the rest of the six digits. Example Cisco_EC:4C:4D
MAC address is most widely used in network switches to determine the route to which to direct packets. This happens on Layer two of the OSI network model.
There is a detailed article by my colleague Alex Plumpton about how Network Routing works. You can check it out here : How routers work
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