Every network card (NIC) has a unique address that is burned into the card by its manufacturer. This unique address, known as a MAC address. MAC stands for Media Access Control address. This is the Physical Address of a system, thus it is also known as a Physical address.
MAC Address Example
A MAC address is consists of six sets of two characters. This looks similar to 00-90-4B-4C-C1-59 or 00:90:4B:4C:C1:59 or 0090.4B4C.C159.
In Windows System, each separated by a hyphen. In Linux system separated by a colon. Where Cisco devices use a period.
Format of MAC Address
The MAC address is a 48-bit address displayed in a 12 characters hexadecimal format, which is embedded into the network card during the time of manufacturing. The first half of the MAC address is the manufacturer’s address or OUI (Organization Unique Identifier). And the last half of the address is the unique network card address assigned to that network card by the manufacturer. The combination of the manufacturer ID and the unique network card address ensures that the MAC address is unique. This means two devices cannot have the same MAC address.
On a network, each device is uniquely identified by its MAC address. It is used in the header of the packet for the source and destination addresses of the packet while sending data from one network card to another. This determines the source and destination of network traffic.
MAC Address is also known as a layer-2 address. The data link layer (or layer-2) of the OSI Model, is divided into two sublayers:
- Logical link control (LLC)
- Media Access Control (MAC)
The Media Access Control (MAC) sublayer maintains physical device addresses for communicating with other devices on the Network.
How to Find MAC Address
We have a separate step-by-step guide on How to Find MAC Address in Windows and How to Find MAC Address in Linux Systems.
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