Short for Media
Access Control address, a hardware address that uniquely identifies each node
of a network. In IEEE 802 networks, the Data Link Control (DLC) layer of the
OSI Reference Model is divided into two sub-layers: the Logical Link Control
(LLC) layer and the Media Access Control (MAC) layer. The MAC layer interfaces
directly with the network medium. Consequently, each different type of network
medium requires a different MAC layer.
On networks that do
not conform to the IEEE 802 standards but do conform to the OSI Reference
Model, the node address is called the Data Link Control (DLC) address.
The MAC address is a
unique value associated with a network adapter. MAC addresses are also known as
hardware addresses or physical addresses. They uniquely identify an adapter on
a LAN.
MAC addresses are
12-digit hexadecimal numbers (48 bits in length). By convention, MAC addresses
are usually written in one of the following two formats…
- MM:MM:MM:SS:SS:SS
- MM-MM-MM-SS-SS-SS
The first half of a
MAC address contains the ID number of the adapter manufacturer. These IDs are
regulated by an Internet standards body. The second half of a MAC address
represents the serial number assigned to the adapter by the manufacturer.
No comments:
Post a Comment