What is the difference between an IP address and a MAC address?

An IP address is the IP address used by the Internet protocol, while a MAC address is the IP address used by the Ethernet protocol.

There is no inevitable relationship between the IP address and the MAC address. The MAC address is the address on the Ethernet NIC, which is 48 characters long. Each Ethernet NIC manufacturer must apply for a set of MAC addresses from the IEEE organization and program them in the serial EEPROM on the NIC card during NIC production. Therefore, each Ethernet NIC manufacturer must apply for a set of MAC addresses. The MAC addresses of any two NICs should not be the same from any manufacturer. Ethernet chip manufacturers do not have to apply for MAC addresses. MAC addresses exist in each Ethernet packet and are part of the Ethernet packet header, the Ethernet switch implements packet switching and Transmission Based on the MAC source address and MAC Destination Address in the Ethernet packet header.

An IP address is an Internet Protocol address. Each Internet package must contain an IP address. Each Internet Service Provider (ISP) must apply for a group of IP addresses from the relevant organization, and then dynamically assign them to users, of course, the user can also apply for an IP address (root access mode) from the ISP, which is why the system usually assigns an automatic IP address When configuring the "Dial-Up Network" for Windows NT/95/98.
The IP address is now 32-bit long and is being expanded to 128-bit. The IP address has nothing to do with the MAC address, because Ethernet users can still connect to the Internet through Modem. IP addresses usually work in the WAN. What we call a Router is an IP address.

MAC addresses work in local networks. The interconnection between local networks is usually through the existing public network or dedicated line, and inter-network protocol conversion is required. IP information can be transmitted on the Ethernet. At this time, the IP address is only part of the data domain of the Ethernet information package. The Ethernet switch or processor does not see the IP address. The upper-layer software processes the IP address only when it processes common data.

How do I know the IP address and MAC address on your machine?

1. for MAC addresses, you can use the software attached to the network card to search for them. If you are using Windows 95/98, you can obtain the MAC address in either of the following ways:

1) enter the "Start"-"run" window, enter "winipcfg"-"OK", and the screen will display a window as follows: (same as below)

2) enter the command line mode and type "IPCONFIG/ALL". The screen displays the following information:
Windows 98 IP Configuration
Host Name ......: newsun
DNS Servers ......: 202.99.168.8
Node Type...: Hybrid
NetBIOS Scope ID ......:
IP Routing Enabled...: No
WINS Proxy Enabled...: No
NetBIOS Resolution Uses DNS: Yes
0 Ethernet adapter:
Description ......: Novell 2000 Adapter.
Physical Address...: 00-88-CC-06-05-43
DHCP Enabled...: No
IP Address ......: 192.168.1.3
Subnet Mask ......: limit 255.0
Default Gateway...: 192.168.1.1
Primary WINS Server...: 192.168.1.2
Secondary WINS Server ...:
Lease Obtained .......:
Lease Expires .......:

If you are using Windows NT 4.0, enter the command line method and type "IPCONFIG/ALL". The screen displays similar information.

2. for IP address values, you can view the IP address values in addition to the settings in "TCP/IP attributes" of the network. If your machine is an IP address obtained through the DHCP server, it cannot be seen in "TCP/IP properties. Article entry: dnbm responsibility Editor: dnbm