• This is the physical address which is used at Data link layer.
• It stands for Media Access Control address.
• It is 12 digit hexadecimal number, represented by colon-Hexa-decimal notation.
• It is of 48 bits, embedded into Network Interface card(NIC)

Format for MAC address: It is divided into parts:

• Organizational Unique Identifier(3 bytes)
• Network Interface Control (3 bytes)

Organizational Unique Identifier(3 bytes): This is of 3 bytes are unique for each manufacturers of NIC cards.

Some OUI of well known manufacturers:

CC:46:D6 - Cisco 
3C:5A:B4 - Google, Inc.
3C:D9:2B - Hewlett Packard
00:9A:CD - HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO.,LTD

Network Interface Control (3 bytes):

The rightmost six digits represents Network Interface Controller, which is assigned by manufacturer.

Categories: Networking