Each device that wants to communicate with other devices on a TCP/IP network needs to have an IP address configured. You should see your MAC address referred to as HWaddress.Īn IP address is a 32-bit number that identifies a host on a network. If you are using Linux, type the ifconfig command. Type the ipconfig/all command and you should see a field called Physical Address under the Ethernet adapter settings: If you are using Windows, start the Command Prompt (Start – Programs – Accessories – Command Prompt). For example, consider the following MAC address: D8-D3-85-EB-12-E3Įvery hexadecimal character represents 4 bits, so the first six hexadecimal characters represent the vendor ( Hewlett Packard in this case). MAC addresses are usually written in the form of 12 hexadecimal digits. The manufacturer then assigns a unique value for the last 3 bytes, which ensures that every MAC address is globaly unique. Manufacturers agree to give all NICs a MAC address that begins with the assigned OUI. It is a hardware address, which means that it is stored in the firmware of the network card.Įvery network card manufacturer gets a universally unique 3-byte code called the Organizationally Unique Identifier (OUI).

A Media Access Control (MAC) address is a 48-bit (6 bytes) address that is used for communication between two hosts in an Ethernet environment.

Ipconfig mac address