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A MAC Address Vs IP Address

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63 views1 page

A MAC Address Vs IP Address

Uploaded by

RaJu Bhai
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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A MAC address (Media Access Control address) and an IP address (Internet Protocol address) are two

different identifiers used in computer networks. Here's the difference between them:

1. Function:

- MAC Address: A MAC address is a unique identifier assigned to a network interface card (NIC) by
the manufacturer. It is used at the data link layer (Layer 2) of the OSI model to uniquely identify a
device on a local network. MAC addresses facilitate communication between devices within the
same local network segment.

- IP Address: An IP address is a numerical label assigned to each device on a network. It is used at


the network layer (Layer 3) of the OSI model to identify and locate devices in a network. IP addresses
enable communication between devices across different networks.

2. Format:

- MAC Address: A MAC address is a 48-bit (or 64-bit for newer standards) hexadecimal value. It is
usually displayed as six pairs of two-digit hexadecimal numbers separated by colons or hyphens, such
as "00:1A:2B:3C:4D:5E".

- IP Address: An IP address is a 32-bit (IPv4) or 128-bit (IPv6) binary value represented in decimal
format. In IPv4, it consists of four sets of numbers separated by periods, like "192.168.0.1". In IPv6, it
is written in eight groups of hexadecimal digits separated by colons, such as
"2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334".

3. Scope:

- MAC Address: MAC addresses are unique to each network interface card and are assigned by the
manufacturer. They are typically used within a local network, such as an Ethernet or Wi-Fi network,
to identify devices within the same network segment.

- IP Address: IP addresses can be assigned to devices within both local networks (LAN) and global
networks (WAN). They allow devices to communicate with each other across different networks,
including the internet.

4. Assignment:

- MAC Address: MAC addresses are assigned by the manufacturer during the production of network
interface cards. Each NIC has a globally unique MAC address that is burned into its hardware.

- IP Address: IP addresses can be assigned dynamically or statically. Dynamic IP addresses are


assigned by a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server, which leases them to devices for a
limited period. Static IP addresses are manually configured and remain fixed for a particular device.

In summary, MAC addresses are used for local network communication, are assigned by the
manufacturer, and have a fixed value for each network interface card. IP addresses, on the other
hand, are used for both local and global network communication, can be dynamically or statically
assigned, and allow devices to communicate across different networks, including the internet.

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