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MAC Address Conflicts Explained

A MAC address is a unique identifier assigned to network interfaces to identify devices on a network. MAC addresses can be 48 or 64 bits long and are represented by hexadecimal numbers separated by colons or dashes. While MAC addresses are meant to be unique, conflicts can occasionally occur when two devices have the same MAC address. This causes a loss of connectivity. MAC address conflicts are resolved by assigning one of the devices a locally administered address, which overrides the preassigned address and ensures each device has a unique identifier.

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176 views2 pages

MAC Address Conflicts Explained

A MAC address is a unique identifier assigned to network interfaces to identify devices on a network. MAC addresses can be 48 or 64 bits long and are represented by hexadecimal numbers separated by colons or dashes. While MAC addresses are meant to be unique, conflicts can occasionally occur when two devices have the same MAC address. This causes a loss of connectivity. MAC address conflicts are resolved by assigning one of the devices a locally administered address, which overrides the preassigned address and ensures each device has a unique identifier.

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MAC Address Conflict

A MAC address is an identifying number assigned to network-capable hardware. MAC is an


acronym for “Media Access Control”; as such, it should always be written in
upper case, avoiding confusion with Mac computers (which, in turn, are not the same as MAC
computers). Because MAC addresses are supposed to be unique, problems can arise when two
identical ones are present, just as they would if two people in different places had exactly the
same postal address.

What Is a MAC Address For?


MAC addresses are used by different network components to identify one another. They can be
more reliable for this purpose than IP addresses, which are subject to dynamic change. Note that
a computer may contain several network adaptors (e.g., Wi-Fi, Ethernet, Bluetooth), each of
which will have its own MAC address. One use is MAC address whitelisting, whereby a network
will only allow connections from designated devices; however, as MAC addresses can be
changed (see the "Locally Administered Addresses" section), this offers only limited security.

Composition of MAC Addresses


MAC addresses may be either 48- or 64-bit in length; that is, consisting of either 48 or 64 binary
digits. These are represented as either six or eight hexadecimal numbers—one for every 8
bits, or 1 byte—separated by dashes or colons as follows: 00:17:f3:cd:bd:e1.
(Hexadecimal or “base 16” numbers are written using the digits 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,
7, 8, 9, a, b, c, d, e and f. See Resources for details.)

Universally Administered Addresses


UAAs are assigned by manufacturers. The first six digits form the OUI, or Organizationally
Unique Identifier, specific to a particular company. Large companies may have several OUIs,
possibly using each for a particular line of products: first-generation iPhones, for example, used
00:1B:63. The rest of the address identifies the individual unit. Most MAC addresses are these
preassigned UAAs.
Locally Administered Addresses
The UAA may, if necessary, be overridden by an LAA, or Locally Administered Address. This
is set by the user, and may consist of any valid combination; there is no need, for example, for an
OUI. However, each MAC address on a local network must be unique.

Conflicts and Resolution


Although MAC addresses are supposed to be unique, there are circumstances in which two
devices attempt to use the same one, resulting in a MAC address conflict and loss of
connectivity. This may occur, for example, because devices have been issued duplicate UAAs, as
in the case of some old Cisco routers. MAC address conflicts may also arise with incorrectly
configured virtual machines. They may be resolved by assigning an LAA to one of the devices,
so that each has a unique ID. The procedure for this varies; consult your device’s
documentation.

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