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 Submitted To : Submitted By:
m Mr. Vipin Nagar Anil Singh Banafer
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y ’n a local area network (LAN) or other network, the MAC
(Media Access Control) address is your computer's unique
hardware number. (On anEthernet LAN, it's the same as your
Ethernet address.) When you're connected to the ’nternet
from your computer (or host as the ’nternet protocol thinks
of it), a correspondence table relates your ’ address to your
computer's physical (MAC) address on the LAN.
y The MAC address is used by the Media Access Control
sublayer of the Data-Link Layer (DLC) of
telecommunication protocols. There is a different MAC
sublayer for each physical device type. The other sublayer
level in the DLC layer is the Logical Link Control sublayer.


 y A MAC address is an address which exists on Layer 2 of
the OS’ Model.
y Layer 2 of the OS’ model is theData Link Layer. The Data
Link Layer consists of two sublayers, the Media Access
Control (MAC) layer and the Logical Link Control (LLC)
layer. The MAC sublayer controls how a network node gains
access to the data and permission to transmit it.

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y The MAC address is a unique value associated with a
networkadapter. MAC addresses are also known
as 2

addresses or 2
 addresses. They
uniquely identify an adapter on a LAN.
y 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:
y MM:MM:MM:SS:SS:SS

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 y MAC addresses are globally unique addressed that are written into
hardware at the time of manufacture. For this reason, MAC
addresses are sometimes called Ô

 Ô
.
y After manufacture, it is possible in many cases to change the MAC
address of a device in software.
y MAC addresses are used by many different Layer 2 technologies,
including Ethernet,Token Ring, 802.11,Bluetooth,
FDD’,ATM, SCS’, and Fibre Channel.
y Because MAC addresses originated in the Ethernet specification,
the MAC address is sometimes referred to as the 

 
.
y A MAC address is 48 bits long. This means that there are
281,474,976,710,656 possible MAC addresses.

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 y MM-MM-MM-SS-SS-SS
y The first half of a MAC address contains the ’D number of
the adapter manufacturer. These ’Ds are regulated by an
’nternet standards body . The second half of a MAC address
represents the serial number assigned to the adapter by the
manufacturer. ’n the example,
y 00:A0:C9:14:C8:29
y The prefix
y 00A0C9
y indicates the manufacturer is ’ntel Corporation

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y Recall that TC
’ and other mainstream networking
architectures generally adopt the OS’ model. ’n this model,
network functionality is subdivided into layers. MAC
addresses function at the data link layer (layer 2 in the OS’
model). They allow computers to uniquely identify
themselves on a network at this relatively low level.

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y Whereas MAC addressing works at the data link layer, ’ addressing
functions at the network layer (layer 3). ’t's a slight oversimplification,
but one can think of ’ addressing as supporting the software
implementation and MAC addresses as supporting the hardware
implementation of the network stack. The MAC address generally
remains fixed and follows the network device, but the ’ address
changes as the network device moves from one network to another.
y ’ networks maintain a mapping between the ’ address of a device and
its MAC address. This mapping is known as the u


2 or u

 . AR , the Address Resolution rotocol, supports the logic for
obtaining this mapping and keeping the cache up to date.
y DHC also usually relies on MAC addresses to manage the unique
assignment of ’ addresses to devices.

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y The method used to `  u 
 depends on the

type of network device involved. All popular network
operating systems contain utility programs that allow us to
find (and sometimes change) MAC address settings.

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y ’n Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows ME,
the winipcfg utility displays the computer's MAC address. Use
the ipconfig utility (with the
all option) in Windows NT and any
newer versions of Windows.
y Both 'winipcfg' and 'ipconfig' may display multiple MAC addresses
for one computer. One MAC address exists for each installed
network card. Additionally, Windows maintains one or more MAC
addresses that are not associated with hardware cards.
y For example, Windows dial-up networking uses virtual MAC
addresses to manage the phone connection as if it were a network
card. Some Windows V N clients likewise have their own MAC
address. The MAC addresses of these "virtual" network adapters
are the same length and format as true hardware addresses.

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y The specific command used in Unix to find a MAC address
varies depending on the version of the operating system. ’n
Linux and in some forms of Unix, the command "ifconfig -a"
returns MAC addresses.
y We can also find MAC addresses in Unix and Linux in the
boot message sequence. These operating systems display the
computer's MAC address on-screen as the system reboots.
Additionally, boot-up messages are retained in a log file
(usually "
var
log
messages" or "
var
adm
messages").

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y We can find MAC addresses on the Macintosh in the Ê




. ’f the system is running Open Transport,
the MAC address appears under the "’nfo" or "User
Mode
Advanced" screens. ’f the system is running MacTC ,
the MAC address appears under the "Ethernet" icon.

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y Windows 95 and newer: winipcfg
y Windows NT and newer: ipconfig
all
y Linux and some Unix: ifconfig -a
y Macintosh with Open Transport: TC
’ Control anel -
’nfo or User Mode
Advanced
y Macintosh with MacTC : TC
’ Control anel - Ethernet
icon

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y MAC addresses were designed to be fixed numbers that
cannot be changed. However, there are several valid reasons
to want to
2 
u 

y Some of them are as follows:
1)- Enable them to work with ’S .
2)- To be of use in cable modems.

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y Most ’nternet subscriptions allow the customer only a single ’
address. The ’nternet Service rovider (’S ) may assign one static
(fixed) ’ address to each customer. However, this approach is an
inefficient use of ’ addresses that are currently in short supply.
The ’S more commonly issues each customer dynamic ’ address
that may change each time the customer connects to the ’nternet.
y ’S s ensure each customer receives only one dynamic address
using several methods. Dial-up and many DSL services typically
require the customer to log in with a username and password.
Cable modem services, on the other hand, do this by registering
and tracking the MAC address of the device that connects to the
’S .

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 y The device whose MAC address is monitored by an ’S can
be either the cable modem, a broadband router, or the C
that hosts the ’nternet connection. The customer is free to
build a network behind this equipment, but the ’S expects
the MAC address to match the registered value at all times.
y Whenever a customer replaces that device, however, or
changes the network adapter inside it, the MAC address of
this new equipment will no longer match the one registered
at the ’S . The ’S will often disable the customer's ’nternet
connection for security (and billing) reasons.

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y ’n addition to MAC addresses tracked by the ’S , some
broadband modems also track the MAC address of the host
computer's network adapter within the home network. ’f you
swap the computer connected to the broadband modem, or
change its network adapter, your cable ’nternet connection
may not function afterward.
y ’n this case, MAC address cloning is not required. Resetting
(including recycling power) on both the cable modem and
the host computer will automatically change the MAC
address stored inside the modem.

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y There are several ways to change the MAC address from
which some of them are as follows:-
1)- Change a MAC Address through Cloning.
2)- Changing MAC Addresses through the Operating System.

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2
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y Some people contact their ’S to request they update the
MAC address associated with their subscription. This process
works but takes time, and ’nternet service will be unavailable
while waiting for the provider to take action.
y A better way to quickly workaround this problem is to
change the MAC address on the new device so that it matches
the address of the original device. While an actual physical
MAC address cannot be changed in hardware, the address can
be emulated in software. This process is called
 .

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 y Many broadband routers today support MAC address cloning
as an advanced configuration option. The emulated MAC
address appears to the service provider identical to the
original hardware address. The specific procedure of cloning
varies depending on the type of router; consult product
documentation for details.

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y Starting with Windows 2000, users can sometimes change
their MAC address through the Windows My Network
laces interface. This procedure does not work for all
network cards as it depends on a certain level of software
support built into the adapter driver.
y ’n Linux and versions of Unix, the "ifconfig" also supports
changing MAC addresses if the necessary network card and
driver support exists.

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