Tech Program

What Is an IP Address?

In order for any device to connect to a Wi-Fi or Ethernet network, two pieces of information are needed to successfully transmit and receive information. The first is a MAC address, which is like the electronic serial number of a device which doesn't change as it joins different networks. The MAC address is used to identify the device physically on the network and uses a format like below.


40:70:09:7a:64:97 - ARRIS Group, Inc.


MAC addresses are useful because the first half of them are assigned to a manufacturer to program into the devices they sell. That means that we can use the MAC address of a device to see who makes it, which is in many cases enough to identify what it is. For example, identifying a "nestcam" device almost certainly means a "Nest" brand security camera.
The other piece of information needed to join a network is an IP address. Unlike the MAC address of a device which doesn't change, your IP address is like a parking space on the network that may change depending on what network you're connected to and how many other spaces are occupied by other devices. When a network creates a link between the physical MAC address of a device and the IP address assigned by the router to a device joining the network, the combination allows a successful connection to the network.
You can find your IP address by running ifconfig or ip a in a terminal window.

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581 viewsedited  Aug 23, 2019 at 12:07

What Is an IP Address?

In order for any device to connect to a Wi-Fi or Ethernet network, two pieces of information are needed to successfully transmit and receive information. The first is a MAC address, which is like the electronic serial number of a device which doesn't change as it joins different networks. The MAC address is used to identify the device physically on the network and uses a format like below.


40:70:09:7a:64:97 - ARRIS Group, Inc.


MAC addresses are useful because the first half of them are assigned to a manufacturer to program into the devices they sell. That means that we can use the MAC address of a device to see who makes it, which is in many cases enough to identify what it is. For example, identifying a "nestcam" device almost certainly means a "Nest" brand security camera.
The other piece of information needed to join a network is an IP address. Unlike the MAC address of a device which doesn't change, your IP address is like a parking space on the network that may change depending on what network you're connected to and how many other spaces are occupied by other devices. When a network creates a link between the physical MAC address of a device and the IP address assigned by the router to a device joining the network, the combination allows a successful connection to the network.
You can find your IP address by running ifconfig or ip a in a terminal window.

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