A MAC address (Media Access Control address) is a unique identifier assigned to a network interface controller (NIC) for use as a network address in communications within a network segment. This address is used to identify the device on the network and allow it to communicate with other devices on the same network.
MAC addresses are typically written as a string of 12 hexadecimal digits, separated by colons, for example, “00:11:22:33:44:55”. The first six digits of the MAC address are assigned by the manufacturer of the NIC, and the last six digits are assigned by the manufacturer of the device that the NIC is installed in.