What statement describes a characteristic of MAC addresses?
A MAC address (Media Access Control address) is a unique identifier assigned to a network interface card (NIC) by the manufacturer.
It is a 48-bit address, usually represented as 6 sets of hexadecimal digits (for example, 00:1A:2B:3C:4D:5E).
A characteristic of MAC addresses is that they are globally unique. This means that no two devices on the same network should have the same MAC address. MAC addresses are assigned by the manufacturers, ensuring uniqueness across the globe. This uniqueness allows devices to be identified and recognized on the network.
Another characteristic of MAC addresses is that they are assigned to the hardware, specifically the network interface card. MAC addresses are burned into the NIC’s firmware during the manufacturing process and remain constant throughout the lifetime of the device. It cannot be modified or changed unless the hardware itself is replaced.
Additionally, MAC addresses are used in local area networks (LANs) to identify devices on the same network. When data is sent from one device to another within a LAN, MAC addresses are used to determine the intended recipient of the data. This process is facilitated by the Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) where MAC addresses are mapped to IP addresses.
It’s important to note that MAC addresses operate at the data link layer (Layer 2) of the OSI model, and they are not routable across different networks.
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