Differences between version 2 and predecessor to the previous major change of MAC.
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| Newer page: | version 2 | Last edited on Thursday, September 25, 2003 12:28:41 pm | by JimCheetham | Revert |
| Older page: | version 1 | Last edited on Sunday, August 4, 2002 8:05:10 pm | by PerryLorier | Revert |
@@ -5,4 +5,10 @@
| from hardware address
| to hardware address
| protocol field
| <data>
+
+The term __MAC Address__ is also used to refer to the hardware address of an Ethernet card. These are usually hard-coded in an __Address [ROM]__ on the network interface card.
+
+A MAC address is 48 bits long, and is commonly represented as a colon-delimited sequence of 12 hex digits - "mm.mm.mm.nn.nn.nn". The first 24 bits/6 digits identify the manufacturer of the network card, as overseen by the [IEEE] and [IANA]. See [http://standards.ieee.org/regauth/oui/oui.txt] for more information.
+
+A MAC address should be globally unique - no two network cards should ever have the same MAC address. Note that some network cards (notably, those used with Solaris machines) may be software-reprogrammable.
