Table of Contents
How can a MAC address be unique?
Devices are Uniquely Identified by Their MAC Addresses
- In the past vendors have intentionally or by mistake assigned the same MAC Address to multiple devices.
- It is possible to change the MAC Address presented by most hardware to the OS, an action often referred to as MAC spoofing:
Is MAC address unique to each computer?
The IEEE manages MAC addresses. The hardware identification addresses that the IEEE distributes are unique. This means that it is possible for two machines in the same network to have the same MAC address.
What part of the MAC address is unique to each manufacturer?
These manufacturers all place a special number sequence (called the Organizationally Unique Identifier or OUI) in the MAC address that identifies them as the manufacturer. The OUI is typically right at the front of the address.
Is a MAC address assigned by the manufacturer?
MAC addresses are primarily assigned by device manufacturers, and are therefore often referred to as the burned-in address, or as an Ethernet hardware address, hardware address, or physical address. Each address can be stored in hardware, such as the card’s read-only memory, or by a firmware mechanism.
Is a MAC address more unique than an IP address?
The main difference between MAC and IP address is that MAC Address is used to ensure the physical address of the computer. It uniquely identifies the devices on a network. While IP addresses are used to uniquely identifies the connection of the network with that device takes part in a network. 1.
How do I identify a unique computer?
For identification of hardware components, the ‘Hardware Identification’ is generally used by softwares. This is generally either the serial number of the primary system drive, or a hash (combination) of the primary drive serial + a code linked to the processor of the computer.
Is your computer’s MAC address more unique than your IP address?
Why do we need IP address when the MAC address is unique?
Originally Answered: When Mac Address for different computer is unique why we need IP Address for transferring packet? MAC addresses are needed for communication within the Local Area Network. IP address comes into the picture when the packet has to be routed to a different network.
Is the MAC address of a computer unique to every computer?
A MAC address is NOT unique for every computer. Manufacturers do indeed try to pick MAC addresses for their cards which are globally unique, BUT: MAC addresses can be overridden in software. Your computer doesn’t have to use the default MAC address of a given network card.
How do I find the MAC address of a device?
In a Mac computer, the process to find MAC address is as follows: go to utilities, (Finder à Utilities or Command + Shift + u) and start the Terminal app. Type networksetup –listallhardwareports. The computer will display all network interfaces and their MAC addresses (Ethernet Addresses).
Can the same computer have different MAC addresses on different networks?
Since the network interface can be swapped out, the same computer can have different MAC addresses at different times. The expectation is that a MAC address is unique for a network media ( such as a connected ethernet) at a given point in time. Nothing stops the same MAC address from being present on different networks at the same time.
What is a MAC address and how is it assigned?
It is assigned to the NIC (Network Interface card) of each device that can be connected to the internet. It stands for Media Access Control, and also known as Physical address, hardware address, or BIA (Burned In Address). It is globally unique; it means two devices cannot have the same MAC address.