An Introduction To Mac Address

By Author: krisaspen
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Mac Address is nothing, but a unique value connected with a network adapter. This is otherwise called as physical or hardware address. It generally identifies an adapter on a LAN. It is of 12-digit with 48 bits in length and it is hexadecimal in nature. Generally, it is written as 6 pairs of characters that are separated either by a colon (:) or by a hyphen (-), where the first half will have the ID of the adapter manufacturer. These IDs are generally regulated by an internet standard body, while the second half will have the serial number allocated to the adapter by the manufacturer. For instance, if the address is 00: A0: C8: 14: C8: 29, the first half is 00: AO: C8 denotes the ID of the adapter manufacturer, while the latter half is the one allocated by the manufacturer.

Why Mac Address? Most of us have come across TP/IP and other mainstream networking architectures and they adopt the OSI model. Here, the functionality of the network is sub-divided into layers. On the other hand, Mac address performs at the data link layer, which will permit the computers to exclusively recognize themselves on a network. So, what is ...
... the difference between Mac and IP Address:

Mac Vs. IP Address: Generally, IP identities support the software implementation, while Mac supports the hardware implementation of the network stack. The IP changes with the movement of network device from one network to another. On the other hand, Mac identity will remain fixed and it will follow the network device. But, it is possible to change Mac address and some years ago it was a difficult task. Now, it can be done easily with the availability of network card specially meant for this purpose. IP networks generally maintain a mapping between the IP of a device and its Mac Address. This is called as ARP table or the ARP Cache. ARP stands for Address Resolutions Protocol and it provides the support to the logic for getting this mapping and keeping the cache up-to-date.

Now, some users wish to change Mac address for one reason or another and as mentioned earlier, it can now be easily done with network cards meant for this purpose. Earlier, it was done only via software program that makes some changes to the registry of the computer for making things happen. But, changes in the registry is not advisable. So, network cards can be the best option.

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