
It is important to note that manufacturers sometimes use different names to describe the MAC address, such as Hardware ID, Physical Address, Wireless ID, Wi-Fi Address, etc. In general, you will find MAC addresses in the system settings, general information, or network settings/status of your device. Occasionally, the MAC address is printed on a label affixed to the bottom of a device. So if your laptop has both an Ethernet port and Wi-Fi built-in, you will see two MAC addresses in the system configuration. For each network interface in your device, there is a unique MAC address associated with it. Can a device have more than one MAC address? The MAC address is a 12 digit hexadecimal number that is most often displayed with a colon or hypen separating every two digits (an octet), making it easier to read.Įxample: A MAC address of 2c549188c9e3 is typically displayed as 2C:54:91:88:C9:E3 or 2c-54-91-88-c9-e3. The NIC is where you make your physical connection to the network, by plugging in an Ethernet cable or connecting to a WiFi signal. The MAC address is tied to the Network Interface Controller (NIC), a subcomponent of the larger device. Just like each house has it's own postal address, every device connected on a network has a Media Access Control (MAC) address, that uniquely identifies it.

How to find the MAC address in Unix or Linux You should see the MAC address in this format 00:00:00:00:00:00

MA-L, or MAC Address Block Large is a block of MAC addresses where the maximum number of addresses is 2 24 or 16 million.

The OUI is basically the first three octets of a MAC address. They are purchased and assigned by the IEEE.

They can either be written in either of these formats:Īn OUI is a 24-bit number that uniquely identifies a vendor or manufacturer. It is a 48-bit number (12 hexadecimal characters). Coming up: MAC address API What is a MAC address? What is OUI? What are MA-L, MA-M, MA-S?Ī MAC address is a unique identifier for network interfaces.
