Short for Media Access Control address, a hardware address that uniquely identifies each device on a network. The MAC address is manufactured into every network card, such as an Ethernet card or Wi-Fi card, and therefore cannot be changed.
On networks that do not conform to the IEEE 802 standards but do conform to the OSI Reference Model, the node address is called the Data Link Control (DLC) address.
How to Find a MAC AddressTo display your MAC address on a Windows NT/2000/2003/XP/Visa computer:
In the "ipconfig /all" results look for the adapter you want to find the MAC address of. The MAC address is the number located next to "Physical Address" in the list.
On networks that do not conform to the IEEE 802 standards but do conform to the OSI Reference Model, the node address is called the Data Link Control (DLC) address.
How to Find a MAC AddressTo display your MAC address on a Windows NT/2000/2003/XP/Visa computer:
- Click START
- Go to ACCESSORIES
- Select Command Prompt
- Type: (no quotes) "ipconfig /all"
In the "ipconfig /all" results look for the adapter you want to find the MAC address of. The MAC address is the number located next to "Physical Address" in the list.