Networking 101: MAC Addresses
Hello Guys, So last time we talked about IP Addresses which make up layer 3 (Network Layer) of the OSI Model and are also useful in routing. Today, we are going to talk about MAC Addresses which make up layer 2 (Datalink Layer) of the OSI Model. MAC stands for Media Access Control. MAC address is a 48-bit physical address that is embedded into the NIC (Network Interface Controller). These 6 sections are actually 6 octets. (FIGURE A) (FIGURE B) The address that you see just next to ether is the MAC Address. This address is used by switches to communicate and know what the device really is. MAC address has the first 3 octets as their identifiers. These 3 octets or 24 bits form the OUI (Organisationally Unique Identifier) and the remain...