The first half of the number is typically used as a manufacturer ID, while the second half is a device identifier. MAC addresses are available from 00-00-00-00-00-00 through FF-FF-FF-FF-FF-FF. Both methods use MAC addresses to identify a device on the network.Ī MAC address is responsible for local identification and an IP address for global identification.Ī MAC address consists of 12 hexadecimal digits, usually grouped into six pairs separated by hyphens. In the current internet era, most devices are connected physically with Ethernet cables or wirelessly with Wi-Fi. In the OSI reference model for networking, the MAC is a Layer 2 - or data link layer - device, and the MAC address is a Layer 2 address.
Media access control refers to the piece of hardware that controls how data is pushed out onto a network. When a router sends the switch a packet with a destination specified by an IP address, it uses the ARP table to know which MAC address to attach to the packet when it forwards the data to the device as Ethernet frames. Local network switches maintain Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) tables that map IP addresses to MAC addresses. An IP address is bound to a network device via software configurations, and network administrators can change it at any time. Compare the differences between a MAC address and IP address.Īnother difference between a MAC address and IP address is the way the addresses are assigned. That local network translates the IP address to a MAC address, adds the MAC address to the data stream and sends the data to the right device. Internet routers move the packets from the source network to the destination network and then to the LAN on which the destination device is connected. People rarely use the address numbers directly, instead using DNS names, which the application translates into the matching number. That address is inserted into the data packets that the network software stack sends out. The MAC address is only significant on the LAN to which a device is connected, and it is not used or retained in the data stream once packets leave that network.Īny piece of internet software, such as a web browser, directs data to a destination on the internet using the destination's IP address. This is the primary difference between a MAC address and IP address, and it affects how they differ in their number of bits, address assignment and interactions. global identification Ī MAC address is responsible for local identification and an IP address for global identification. Some of the main differences between a MAC address and an IP address include the following: IP address: What's the difference?īoth MAC addresses and IP addresses are meant to identify a network device, but in different ways.
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