The difference between MAC and IP Address A MAC address is hard-coded into the hardware of a device and cannot be changed, while an IP address can be assigned dynamically or statically and can change over time. The main difference between an IP address and a MAC address is that an IP address is used to identify a device on a network while a MAC address is used to uniquely identify a specific piece of hardware. An IPv6 address is composed of eight groups of four hexadecimal digits separated by colons, such as 2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334. An IPv4 address consists of four numbers separated by periods, each ranging from 0 to 255, such as 192.168.1.1. What is an IP AddressĪn IP address is a unique numerical label assigned to each device connected to a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication. The network identifier specifies which network the device is attached to, while the host identifier identifies the specific device on that network. An IP address is composed of two parts: a network identifier and a host identifier.

IP (Internet Protocol) addresses are logical identifiers used by routing protocols to identify devices on a network. Logically, MAC addresses are used in the media access control protocol sublayer of the OSI reference model.

MAC addresses are used as network addresses for most IEEE 802 network technologies, including Ethernet and Wi-Fi. The local IP address (also called internal IP or private IP) is different from the public IP address (also known as public IP).A MAC (Media Access Control) address is a unique identifier assigned to network interfaces for communications on the physical network segment. This public IP is provided by your ISP(Internet Service Provider) and it is unique. Simultaneously, when your device connects to the Internet, an extra IP address known as Public IP is assigned to it. Your PC is provided a private IP address when you connect to other devices (eg: a router).

Other devices refer to the system using this IP address. Similarly, your PC has an “IP address” which is its unique identifier in the network of devices. If your friend wants to send you a postcard, they will ask you for your home or office address. To do all those things, you first need to know the IP address of the device. Apart from letting you connect multiple devices, a local network is very useful for a variety of things like sharing files between two computers, see what other users are browsing on your network, remotely logging into your router, etc.

What is my computer's ip address mac