MAC Addressing

→MAC stands for Media Access Control Address.

→Every node in LAN is identified with the help of MAC addess.

→IP addess is like location of a person.

→MAC address is like name of a person.

\Basically Routers need Ip address and switches need mac address.*

• In LAN we need mac address to send the data to the right destination.

• Physical address and Logical address.

• MAC address is unique.

• This address cannot be changed like ip address.

• This address is assigned by the manufacturer.

• Represented in hexadecimal.

• Example:70-20-84-ED-FC(48 bits)

• To seperate the mac address we use hyphen(-),period(.),and colon(:).

Differences between IP Address and MAC Address:

IP address:

1. Ip address is needed for communication.

2. It is a 32bit address.

3. Represented in decimal.

4. Routers need Ip address to forward data.

5. Example:10.10.24.46 .

MAC address:

1. Needed for communication.

2. It is a 48 bit address.

3. Represented in hexa decimal.

4. Switch needs MAC address to forward data.

5. Example:70-27-45-00-EA-CD .

In real life we can see MAC address as following: