What is MAC, What Does It Do?

Every device connected to the internet must have unique addresses in order to be able to exchange data properly. The main reason for these addresses is to be able to separate each device in the network. MAC addresses are unique addresses created for this exchange. In other words, the address used in any device is not used in another device.

Commonly confused with IP address, this term is an address owned by your Ethernet port or network card.

MAC addresses are addresses assigned by the manufacturers of the device. For example; “68-7F-74-12-34-56” this directory is an example of a MAC address. The first six digits of the address represent the manufacturer, while the last six digits are a unique identification number.

What does a MAC address do?
The MAC address is used to transport data to the correct device on the network. So it is actually an address for your modem to recognize your device. It is not the address that directly allows you to connect to the Internet. Your IP address is the address that allows you to connect to the internet and exchange data via the server. Your modem recognizes which device on the network wants to connect to the internet from its MAC address. Likewise, companies define who owns the computer with the help of the MAC address in their private network.

Data packets sent over the network always come from a MAC address and go to a MAC address. However, there is no such thing as only one MAC address on each device. This is because any network adapter needs a different MAC address. For example, if the device has different communication channels such as more than one LAN, bluetooth, it means they all have a different MAC address. For this reason, it may not be correct to use terms such as device address directly.