How to get a MAC Address

Definition of MAC Address

A MAC (Media Access Control or Medium Access Control) address, also known as a physical address or hardware address, is used to define the location of a network device. In the OSI model, the third layer (Network Layer) is responsible for the IP address, while the second layer (Data Link Layer) is responsible for the MAC address. Therefore, a host will have one MAC address, and each network location will have an IP address exclusively belonging to it. The MAC address is determined by the network interface card (NIC) and is fixed.

MAC Address

A MAC (Medium/Media Access Control) address is used to represent the identifier of every station on the Internet. It is represented by hexadecimal numbers, totaling six bytes (48 bits). The first three bytes (the high 24 bits) are a code assigned to different manufacturers by the IEEE Registration Authority (RA), also known as the Organizationally Unique Identifier (OUI). The last three bytes (the low 24 bits) are independently assigned by various manufacturers to the adapter interfaces they produce, known as the Extended Identifier. One address block can generate 2²⁴ different addresses. A MAC address is essentially an adapter address or an adapter identifier EUI-48.

A MAC (Media Access Control) address, also called a hardware address, has a length of 48 bits (6 bytes), consists of hexadecimal numbers, and is divided into the first 24 bits and the last 24 bits:

• The first 24 bits are called the Organizationally Unique Identifier (OUI). This is a code assigned to different manufacturers by the IEEE Registration Authority to distinguish between different manufacturers.

• The last 24 bits are assigned by the manufacturers themselves, known as the Extended Identifier. Even in network cards produced by the same manufacturer, the last 24 bits of the MAC address are different.

The MAC address corresponds to the Data Link Layer (the second layer) of the OSI reference model. Switches operating at the Data Link Layer maintain a database of computer MAC addresses and their own ports. Switches forward data frames based on the "Destination MAC Address" field in the received data frames.

The 8th bit of the 1st byte (as in 00000000-01010000-10111010-... corresponding to 00-50-BA-..., the bold bit) identifies whether this address is a multicast address or a unicast address. This is determined by the characteristic of the Ethernet transmission protocol where the high byte is transmitted first, but within each byte, the low bit is transmitted first. See IEEE 802.3 3.2.3 Address fields: "The first bit (LSB) shall be used in the Destination Address field as an address type designation bit to identify the Destination Address either as an individual or as a group address. If this bit is 0, it shall indicate that the address field contains an individual address. If this bit is 1, it shall indicate that the address field contains a group address that identifies none, one or more, or all of the stations connected to the LAN. In the Source Address field, the first bit is reserved and set to 0." In fact, this transmission sequence is 000000000000101001011101... "The first bit (LSB)" is exactly the aforementioned 8th bit.

The physical address of a network card is typically burned into the network card's EPROM (a type of flash memory chip, usually erasable and writable via programming) by the network card manufacturer. It stores the actual address of the computer sending the data and the host receiving the data, which is relied upon during data transmission.

In other words, during the physical transmission process at the bottom layer of the network, hosts are identified through physical addresses. For example, for a well-known Ethernet card, its physical address is a 48-bit integer, such as: 44-45-53-54-00-00, stored in the host interface in a machine-readable format. The Ethernet address management authority (the IEEE, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) divides Ethernet addresses—the different combinations of 48 bits—into several independent, continuous address groups. Manufacturers producing Ethernet cards purchase one of these groups and, during specific production, assign a unique address to each Ethernet card one by one.

Figuratively speaking, a MAC address is just like the ID number on our identity card.

MAC Address Application Methods

Materials Required for MAC Address Application:

• A. Applicant Information: Includes name, position, company name, address, email, and phone number.

• B. Company Information: If it is not a first-time application, you must ensure that the current MAC address utilization rate has reached 95%; otherwise, the application will not be approved, and a reason for reapplying is required. At the same time, you must also provide the company type (whether it is a parent company, a subsidiary, or neither).

MAC Address Application Categories

The processing cycle for a MAC address is generally calculated based on the customer's payment time, requiring about 7 working days (bank transfer time).

A. MAC Address Block Large (MA-L)

Because the MAC address is a 12-digit hexadecimal code in total, the manufacturer ID occupies the first 6 digits (ensuring uniqueness). The remaining 6 digits can be freely used and managed by the customer. The application fee is US $3,480 + US $25 (bank transfer handling fee) = US $3,505. By applying for one manufacturer ID in this way, you can enjoy 2²⁴ (i.e., 16,777,216) MAC addresses, usually recorded as 16 million.

The applied MAC can be queried on the official IEEE website. If the manufacturer wishes to keep the application information confidential, an annual confidentiality fee of US $4,020 is required.

B. MAC Address Block Medium (MA-M)

This method allocates the first 7 digits to the manufacturer, and the remaining 5 digits are managed by the customer. The application fee is US $2,090 + US $25 (bank transfer handling fee) = US $2,115. By applying for one manufacturer ID in this way, you can enjoy 2²⁰ (i.e., 1,048,576) MAC addresses, usually recorded as 1 million.

The applied MAC can be queried on the official IEEE website. If the manufacturer wishes to keep the application information confidential, an annual confidentiality fee of US $2,640 is required.

C. MAC Address Block Small (MA-S)

This method allocates the first 9 digits to the manufacturer, and the remaining 3 digits are managed by the customer. The application fee is US $880 + US $25 (bank transfer handling fee) = US $905. By applying for one manufacturer ID in this way, you can enjoy 2¹² (i.e., 4,096) MAC addresses.

The applied MAC can be queried on the official IEEE website. If the manufacturer wishes to keep the application information confidential, an annual confidentiality fee of US $1,420 is required.

When is it necessary to apply for a MAC address? When is it not required?

Currently, there are many chip solutions on the market, such as TVs with network function chips, set-top boxes (STBs) with network function chips, mobile phone chips, WiFi, Bluetooth, and USB-LAN chips. These chip manufacturers generally have applied for OUIs. If you are using their chips and your shipment volume is not very large, you can usually ask them to release a segment of addresses. If the shipment volume is large, such as for big companies, they will apply for MAC addresses themselves; having their own manufacturer's MAC address facilitates production management and after-sales service. Of course, when using a chip manufacturer's address segment (or borrowing from another company), you can also achieve effective management by maintaining proper production records.

JJR LAB specializes in providing MAC address application and IMEI number application services for wireless customers. With 20 years of professional experience, we have successfully helped numerous customers with their applications. If you perform your certification with us, the application fee can be waived.