Where the MAC addresses and IP addresses are as digital addresses that uniquely defines a device and a connection in a network. The MAC address is a number assigned to the NIC card by the manufacturer. And the IP address is a number assigned to the connection in a network. That is the basic difference between MAC address and IP address is that a MAC address uniquely identifies a device that wants to take part in a network. Even then, an IP address uniquely defines a connection of a network with an interface of a device. Today I have created a comparative table to explain the difference between MAC address and IP address. So let's try to understand the difference between them better.

Definition of Mac Address

The address that uniquely defines a hardware interface is called MAC (Media Access Control) Address. The MAC address is purchased by the manufacturer, producing interface hardware and assign the MAC addresses sequentially to the interface hardware as they are produced. These MAC addresses are burned into the ROM of the Network Interface Card (NIC). A NIC is interface hardware that is used by the computer to become a part of a network.

Mostly, MAC addresses are a hexadecimal address of about 48-bit. That is the format of a MAC address is "MM:MM:MM:SS:SS:SS", where MM:MM:MM is a 3-byte address of the manufacturer. 

Even then, SS:SS:SS is a serial number of NIC card. A MAC Address of each computer on a network is unique. 

If you change or replace the NIC card of your computer, your MAC address also gets changed. A MAC address is used at the data link layer of OSI/TCP/IP model. 

The ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) is a protocol used to receive the MAC address of a device.

Definition of IP Address

A digital address provided to a connection in a network is called IP (Internet Protocol) address. An IP address does not uniquely identify a device on a network but, it specifies a particular connection in a network. An IP address is provided by the administrator of the network or by Internet Service Provider (ISP). An IP address identifies both a network and the host on that network. An IP address is used while routing as it specifically identifies a network connection. Supposing, you have two internet connection on your computer devices then your computer is on two networks so, it will have two IP addresses.

Where IPv4 address is 32-bit address whereas IPv6 is 128-bit address. Your IP address will get changed each time you connect to the network as it is dynamically allocated to your device when it participates in the network. An IP address for a particular connection in a network can be retrieved by RARP (Reverse Address Resolution Protocol).

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