MAC may refer to any of the following:
Sep 03, 2013 What are MAC addresses used for? MAC addresses are the low level basics that make your ethernet based network work. Network cards each have a unique MAC address. Packets that are sent on the ethernet are always coming from a MAC address and sent to a MAC address. This layer is responsible for routing, but knows nothing about the MAC address. As a side note, at the hardware level, MAC addresses ARE used by switches, but not for routing. From How Stuff Works: The switch gets the first packet of data from Node A. It reads the MAC address and saves it to the lookup table for Segment A.
1. Short for medium access control, or MAC address. Known as a physical address and hardware address whose number is uniquely formatted in hexadecimal format and given to each computer or network device on a computer network. The addresses are usually assigned by the hardware manufacturer, and these ID's are considered burned into the firmware of the network access hardware. Because of this process, some vendors use specific formats in the hardware address. Below is an example of a MAC address.
Because a MAC address is a unique address, devices on a network do not share the same MAC address.
NoteBecause of the potential of tracking wireless devices by using a MAC address, many manufacturers (e.g., Apple, Google, and Microsoft) generate random MAC addresses.
Related pages
- Network and network card help and support.
2. A Mac is also an abbreviation used to describe Macintosh, a line of personal computers created by Apple.
Related pages
Mac Address Used For
Because a MAC address is a unique address, devices on a network do not share the same MAC address.
NoteBecause of the potential of tracking wireless devices by using a MAC address, many manufacturers (e.g., Apple, Google, and Microsoft) generate random MAC addresses.
Related pages
- Network and network card help and support.
2. A Mac is also an abbreviation used to describe Macintosh, a line of personal computers created by Apple.
Related pages
Mac Address Used For
What Is My Mac Address
Apple terms, Computer acronyms, Hardware terms, Hexadecimal, Hostid, Network terms, Physical address
