24 July 2021

MAC vs IP address | Difference MAC and IP address

Both the  MAC and the IP address are used to identify a device on the internet. The MAC address is provided by the manufacturer of the NIC card, while the IP address is provided by the internet service provider. So here this article gives the difference between MAC and IP address to better understand this topic.

Definition of MAC:

MAC stands for media access control, It is an address that uniquely defines a hardware interface. The manufacturer purchases MAC addresses before producing interface hardware and assigning the MAC address sequentially to the interface hardware as it is produced. 

Definition of IP address:

The address assigned to a network connection is known as an IP address. An IP address does not uniquely identify a device on a network, but it does specify a specific network connection. IP addresses are assigned by the network administrator or by the internet service provider.

MAC vs IP address | Difference MAC and IP address:

  • MAC address stands for media access control address, while the IP address stands for internet protocol address.
  • The MAC address is a six-byte hexadecimal address, whereas the IP address is either four or eight bytes.
  • MAC address operates in the data link layer, IP address operates in the network layer.
  • MAC is a device attached with a MAC address that can retrieve by ARP protocol, while the IP address is a device attached with an IP address that can retrieve by RARP protocol.
  • MAC is a NIC cards manufacturer that provides the MAC address, while the IP address is an internet service provider that provides IP address.
  • MAC address is used to ensure the physical address of the computer, while IP address is the logical address of the computer.
  • MAC address can't be found easily by a third party, while the IP address can modify with time and environment.
  • MAC address can't be found easily by a third party, IP address can be found by the third party.
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