Lexmark 4600 Series manual What is a MAC address?, How do I find the MAC address?

What is a MAC address?

A Media Access Control (MAC) address is a 48-bit identifier associated with the hardware of network equipment. The MAC address may also be called the physical address because it is connected to the hardware of a device instead of its software. The MAC address is displayed as a hexadecimal number in this format: 01-23-45-67-89-AB.

Every device capable of communicating on a network has a MAC address. Network printers, computers, and routers, whether Ethernet or wireless, all have MAC addresses.

While it is possible to change the MAC address of a network device, it is not common practice to do so. For this reason, MAC addresses are considered permanent. IP addresses are easily changed, so MAC addresses are a more reliable method of identifying a specific device on a network.

Routers with security capabilities may allow filtering of MAC addresses on networks. This allows a managed list of devices to access the network, identified by their MAC addresses. MAC address filtering can help prevent access on the network from unwanted devices, such as from intruders on a wireless network. MAC address filtering can also prevent legitimate access if you forget to add a new device to the router's list of allowed addresses. If your network uses MAC address filtering, be sure to add the MAC address of the printer to the list of allowed devices.

How do I find the MAC address?

Most network equipment has a unique hardware identification number to distinguish it from other devices on the network. This is called the Media Access Control (MAC) address.

The MAC address is a series of letters and numbers located on the back of your printer.

UAA: XX XX XX XX XX XX

Note: A list of MAC addresses can be set on an access point (router) so that only devices with matching MAC addresses are allowed to operate on the network. This is called MAC filtering. If MAC filtering is enabled in your access point (router) and you want to add a printer to your network, the MAC address of the printer must be included in the MAC filter list.

What is an IP address?

An IP address is a unique number used by devices (such as a wireless printer, computer, or wireless access point) on an IP network to locate and communicate with each other. Devices on an IP network can communicate with each other only if they have unique and valid IP addresses. A unique IP address means no two devices on the same network have the same IP address.

An IP address is a group of four numbers separated by periods. An example of an IP address is 192.168.100.110.

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