MAC Address Basics and Classification

In computer networks, every Network Interface Card (NIC) has a unique Media Access Control (MAC) address. When network devices (such as computers or routers) need to send data, they set the source MAC address of the packet to their own MAC address and the destination MAC address to that of the receiving device's hardware. This allows the recipient device to identify the origin of the packet and deliver it to the correct network interface card.

The MAC address operates at the Data Link Layer (Layer 2) and is used to control data transmission over physical media, such as Ethernet. In contrast, IP addresses function at the Network Layer (Layer 3), serving as logical addresses that uniquely identify each device on an internet protocol network.