When you tell your computer to talk to another device, your computer goes, 'Hi, router. Note that each device on the network starts with 192.168.1, and then the router assigned a unique number at the end for each device. Here's an example of the devices on a subnet: So, every device has an IP address that starts with those three octets and then ends with a unique number. It's the default subnet on most residential routers. If yours is like most homes in the world, you probably have a subnet that starts with 192.168.1. You've got an Xbox, iPhone, and a couple of computers. The router connects all your devices to the internet. Let's say you have a house with a router. How MAC Addresses, IP Addresses, and Subnet Masks Work Together A common subnet mask of 255.255.255.0 tells us the first three octets of the address denotes the network portion and the last octet denotes the host portion of the address. These parts are defined by the subnet mask that is assigned to the address. Every IPv4 address has a network portion and a host portion. Some websites always have the same IP address, called a Static IP Address. Years ago, you kept the same IP address on your computer, but now IP addresses are usually dynamically assigned. The IP address is a virtual address and it changes depending on the network your device connects to, or even every time you reboot your computer. (In case you were wondering, the 48-bit identifier has 281.5 trillion combinations, so you shouldn't be worried about duplicates.) Truth be told, we don't usually care about it - it works behind the scenes.

Represented by a 12-digit, hexadecimal number, every device in the world has a unique MAC address. It's hard-coded to the network card from the manufacturer.

Here are all the parts you need to know.Ī MAC address is a device's 'physical' address. But most people don't realize there's a lot happening behind the scenes to get you there. What are MAC Addresses, IP Addresses, and Subnet Masks?

Lan network mac address