When data packets from the internet hit your router, that router needs to be able to send them to the right device on its network. RELATED: What Is a Network Adapter? How Does a MAC Address Work? Large network adapter manufacturers like Dell and Cisco will often code their identifiers, called their Organizationally Unique Identifier (OUI), into the MAC addresses of devices they make. MAC addresses are always a 12 digit hexadecimal number, with the numbers separated every two digits by a colon or hyphen. MAC addresses are used to identify which device is which on your local network so that data gets sent to your computer and not your roommate’s smartphone. MAC addresses work with the card in your device that lets it connect wirelessly to the internet, called a Network Interface Controller (NIC). Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Ethernet connections all use MAC addresses.
Other names used for MAC addresses include: MAC addresses are associated with specific devices and assigned to them by the manufacturer. One of those critical elements is the media access control (MAC) address. Without both working together, we couldn’t get online.
Hardware devices like routers and cables transmit the data we need, while software like border gateway protocol (BGP) and internet protocol (IP) addresses direct those data packets to and from those devices. There’s also some settings that only techies will be able to fathom, such as determining the method of checking a computer’s remote state–but you may not need to use such complex settings.Multiple hardware and software elements work together every day to connect us to the internet and get data to our devices. Based on the MAC addresses, it was also able to accurately identify the right manufacturer for each device.įind MAC Address includes some very nifty tools, such as the ability to look at a specific IP address and identify the MAC address of network cards.
In my tests, Find MAC Address did a stellar job and was able to find the correct MAC address for every device connected to my network: a wireless router, multiple PCs, a Macbook, a home server, and even a Xoom Android tablet. There’s an easy way to do it : Get LizardSystems‘s Find MAC Address ($30 for business use, 30-day free trial free for non-commercial use).įind MAC Address makes it exceptionally easy to find the MAC address of all devices on your network, and lets you set network IP ranges to scan.Simply tell the program the range of IP addresses on your network, click a button, and it looks at every address, ferreting out the MAC address for any device using that IP address.
And even then, it may not work, because people may have connected tablets or smartphones to the network, and you may not know every person who has done that. Having to manually go to every computer on the network, and taking the time to run tools to find out every device’s MAC address is extremely time-consuming. Every network adapter has what is called a Media Access Control address that uniquely identifies it.