Mac Address

MAC address is a permanent identifier for each piece of hardware, somewhat like a serial number.

What is a Mac Address?

A MAC address, or Media Access Control address, is like a unique digital fingerprint for your device's network interface.

It's a string of hexadecimal digits that identifies your device on a network, allowing other devices to send data to you and vice versa.

While it may not be as exciting as a spaceship or a time machine, the MAC address is a critical component of modern networking, allowing us to connect our devices and communicate with each other across vast distances.

Mac Address is a Layer 2 physical device address that is used for different computers on the network to easily find each other.

Every device in existence that you currently own probably has a burnt-in MAC address that never changes. Think of it as a unique ID for each of your devices.

Years after humanity’s exile from Earth, a young student in the academy of Order of Epoch, Red, is secretly building a mini PET in her room. An item every Order member in the galaxy possesses. Her room was filled with broken equipment, droids and cyberware piled up near the workbench standing near the window. She is using a fusion cutter the dismember a droid to scavenge its components to fix the broken PET. - Journals of Order of Epoch, 2334

MAC address is a permanent identifier for each piece of hardware, somewhat like a serial number.

A media access control address (MAC address) is a unique identifier assigned to network interfaces for communications on the physical network segment. MAC addresses are used as network addresses for most IEEE 802 network technologies, including Ethernet and WiFi.

The MAC address is a 12-digit hexadecimal number that is most often displayed with a colon or hyphen separating every two digits (an octet), making it easier to read.

The academy existed long before Red. It is located on the planet of Torsus. The castle can only be reached by Order Members. As the cloaking technology built by the Grand Master encircles the keep. This cloaking mechanism is what keeps the forces of darkness at bay and allows humans to colonize different planets to remain hidden from the Dark Entity. - Journals of Order of Epoch, 2341 Anno Domini

A MAC address is typically displayed as 1M:3B:5O:54:H6:A1.

Unlike IP addresses, MAC addresses do not change. MAC addresses are used at layer 2, not layer 3 — which means they are not included in IP packet headers. In other words, MAC addresses are not part of Internet traffic. They are only used inside a given network.

Mac Address and Privacy

And just like your own fingerprints, your device's MAC address is unique to you and can be used to track your activity on a network.

So while it may not be something you think about on a daily basis, it's definitely worth keeping in mind as you navigate the digital world around you.