A MAC Address is given by the manufacturer and it is embedded in the chip that allows your device to connect to a network. To put the MAC (Media Access Control) address in layman’s terms, you can think of the MAC address as your unique digital fingerprint, which is one of a kind in the world. So, why does your network devices need two addresses to connect to a network? Isn’t an IP address sufficient? What exactly is that MAC address for? Except for switches which have switch MAC address, all devices that connected to the Internet have this unique identifying number, from desktop computers, laptops, cell phones, tablets to wireless security cameras, and even your connected refrigerator have a MAC address. You may have noticed that every piece of hardware on your local network has a MAC address in addition to the IP address.
Switch Mac Address: What’s It and How Does it Work?
