[go: up one dir, main page]
Scribd
Upload
179 views2 pages

Understanding MAC Addresses

The document discusses MAC (Media Access Control) addresses. It explains that MAC addresses are unique hardware identifiers for network devices and are permanent. It also describes the format of MAC addresses as six pairs of hexadecimal numbers separated by colons. The document then discusses how MAC addresses relate to the TCP/IP model and how DHCP uses MAC addresses to assign IP addresses. It concludes by describing how MAC address filtering can be used as a security method to control network access by whitelisting or blacklisting devices based on their MAC addresses.

Uploaded by

Raymart Mateo
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
179 views2 pages

Understanding MAC Addresses

The document discusses MAC (Media Access Control) addresses. It explains that MAC addresses are unique hardware identifiers for network devices and are permanent. It also describes the format of MAC addresses as six pairs of hexadecimal numbers separated by colons. The document then discusses how MAC addresses relate to the TCP/IP model and how DHCP uses MAC addresses to assign IP addresses. It concludes by describing how MAC address filtering can be used as a security method to control network access by whitelisting or blacklisting devices based on their MAC addresses.

Uploaded by

Raymart Mateo
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

INTRODUCTION:

A MAC (Media Access Control) address is a hardware identification number that uniquely
identifies each device on a network. The MAC address is manufactured into every network card,
such as an Ethernet card or Wi-Fi card, and therefore cannot be changed.

Since there are large number of networkable devices available and still increases, and each
device needs to have a unique MAC address, there must be a very wide range of possible
addresses. For this reason, MAC addresses are made up of six two-digit hexadecimal numbers,
separated by colons. MAC addresses are 6-byte (48-bits) in length, and are written in
MM:MM:MM:SS:SS:SS format. The first 3-bytes are ID number of the manufacturer, which is
assigned by an Internet standards body. The second 3-bytes are serial number assigned by the
manufacturer.

MAC layer represents layer 2 of the TCP/IP (adopted from OSI Reference Model), where IP
represents layer 3. MAC address can be thought of as supporting hardware implementation
whereas IP address supports software implementation. MAC addresses are permanently burned
into hardware by hardware manufacturer, but IP addresses are assigned to the network devices
by a network administrator. DHCP relies on MAC address to assign IP addresses to network
devices.

MAC filtering is a security method based on access control. It helps in listing the allowed
devices which you need on your Wi-Fi and denied devices which you don’t want on your Wi-Fi.
It helps to prevent unwanted access to the network. In a way we can blacklist or white list certain
computers based on their MAC address. We can configure the filter to allow connection only to
those devices included in the white list. White lists provide greater security than blacklists
because the router grants access only to selected devices.

It is used on enterprise wireless networks having multiple access points to prevent clients from
communicating with each other. The access point can be configured to only allow clients to talk
to the default gateway, but not other wireless clients. It increases the efficiency of access to
network.

The router allows to configure a list of allowed MAC addresses in its web interface, allowing
you to choose which devices can connect to your network. The router has a number of functions
designed to improve the security of network but not all are useful. Media access control may
seem advantageous but there are certain flaws. On a wireless network the device with the proper
credentials such as SSID and password can authenticate with the router and join the network
which gets an IP address and access to the internet and any shared resources.

MAC address filtering adds an extra layer of security that checks the device’s MAC address
against a list of agreed addresses. If the client’s address matches one on the router’s list, access is
granted otherwise it doesn’t join the network .

You might also like