Difference Between IP Address and MAC Address
Difference Between IP Address and MAC Address
The main Difference between MAC Address and IP Address is; MAC Address identifies the physical address of a computer but IP Address identifies connection of a computer on the internet.
What is IP Address
The IP address is the logical address provided to a connection in a network. IP address is provided by the administrator of the network or by Internet Service Provider (ISP). It is used in the routing operations, as it specifically identifies a network connection. There are two types of IP address, IPv4 and IPs6. IPv4 is 32 bit address and IPv6 is 128-bit address. the IP address of a device is change each time you connect to the network.
What is MAC Address?
A media access control address (MAC address) is a unique identifier assigned to a network interface controller (NIC) for use as a network address in communications within a network segment. This use is common in most IEEE 802 networking technologies, including Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth.
MAC (Media Access Control) address is the physical address that uniquely identifies a hardware interface. MAC address is 48 bit hexadecimal address. The formate of a MAC address is MM:MM:MM:SS:SS:SS. Here first three bytes repersent manufacturer and rest three bytes repersent the serial number of NIC (Network Interface card). MAC address is burned into ROM of Network Interface Card (NIC). Each computer device have unique MAC Address
Why we Need MAC Addres
MAC addresses are the low level basics that make your ethernet based network work. Network cards each have a unique MAC address. Packets that are sent on the ethernet are always coming from a MAC address and sent to a MAC address. If a network adapter is receiving a packet, it is comparing the packet’s destination MAC address to the adapter’s own MAC address. If the addresses match, the packet is processed, otherwise it is discarded.
Difference Between IP Address and MAC Adderess
| Basis for Differences | IP Address | MAC Address |
|---|---|---|
| Stands for | Media Access Control Address | Internet Protocol Address |
| Purpose | It identifies the physical address of a computer | It identifies connection of a computer on the internet. |
| Also Know as | Hardware, physical and ethernet Address | Network, logical and internet address. |
| Address | MAC address is assigned by the manufacturer to the NIC card | IP address is assigned by the network administrator or internet service provider. |
| Retrive Address | ARP Protocol can be retrive the MAC address of device | RARP Protocol can be retrive the IP address of device |
| Bits | It is 48 bits (6 bytes) hexadecimal address | IPv4 is 32 bits(4 bytes) address and IPv6 is 128 bits(16 bytes) address. |
