These addresses are similar to serial numbers and are assigned by hardware manufacturers. They are 48bit long and consist of 6 blocks of 2 hexadecimal digits 4 bits each.
MAC addresses are sometimes called physical addresses. The inverted process then occurs on your friend’s computer when they receive the message – the envelope gets unpacked, 1s and 0s turn back into English, and they get a new message notification. Then source and destination MAC addresses are added to the payload and, eventually, it goes out the wire. Source and destination IP addresses are specified. The goods are then packaged, and your address is attached to it.Įnglish gets converted to 1s and 0s. When the order gets processed, it collects all the necessary data about you and the items you have ordered. Let’s go back to the same online shop delivery analogy. When you send a message to your friend, the data that you’re sending starts at the top of the OSI model – the application layer.Īs the data moves down each layer, it gets processed by different protocols getting everything prepared. OSI model consists of 7 abstract layers each representing a specific function 7. Open Systems Interconnection model (OSI) model is a conceptual framework that standardises the communication functions of computer systems. If you want to go a bit more technical, let’s quickly have a look at one of the fundamental concepts of computer networking – the OSI model. When you finally get that delivery from an online shop, your mum will take the box to your room. The original sender doesn’t know how many rooms there are and which one is yours – they don’t need to know that. The MAC addresses, on the other hand, are like rooms in your house. IP addresses work the same way – they are unique worldwide. If you send a letter from any place on Earth to this address, it will eventually get to our office.
Unit 7, Grafton Pl, Chelmsford, Essex, CM2 6TG If you are here for a quick super-simple answer, IP addresses are like your real-world house addresses, and MAC addresses are the rooms in these houses.
It could be on a small local network or a wide area network like the Internet. IP addresses and MAC addresses are both used in modern networks for any communication.