Computer networks-4

Question 1

MAC and IP addresses

Answer 1

• Both MAC Address and IP Address are used to uniquely
  identify/define a device on the internet.
• NIC Card’s Manufacturer provides the MAC Address, on
  the other hand, Internet Service Provider (ISP) provides IP
  Address.
• MAC Address is used to ensure the physical address of
  the computer. It uniquely identifies a device on network.
• While IP addresses are used to uniquely identify the
  connection of that device (in the network) which takes
  part in a network.

Question 2

MAC Address or Physical Address in Computer Networks :

Answer 2

– MAC Address is like a fingerprint of each device which means they identify each device like
a physical identifier, just like for humans, fingerprints are considered as standard source for
authentication.
– The full form of MAC address is Media Access Control address.
– MAC addresses are 48 bits long and these addresses could not be routed between
networks.
– MAC Address is a 12 digit hexadecimal numeral which is most typically expressed with a
colon or hyphen separating every two digits (an octet), making reading easier.
– MAC Addresses are used at the Data Link Layer.

– Example
* A MAC address of 2c549188c9e3 is represented as 2C:54:91:88:C9:E3 or 2c-54-91-88-c9-e3.

Question 3

Advantages Of MAC Address :

Answer 3

– The MAC Address of a network card can be used
to assign a static IP to a computer.
– MAC Address can be used in restricting access to
a computer to prevent unauthorized accesses
from external devices into the network.
– Some Internet Service Providers use this MAC
Address to authenticate their users.

Question 4

IP Address

Answer 4

– An Internet Protocol address is an IP address.
– An IP Address is the address used for identifying devices
in Internet or on a local network.
– The Internet Service Provider (ISP) assigns IP addresses to
all devices on its network.
– IP Addresses can be termed as identifiers which enable
information to be transmitted in a network
communication.
– An IP Address is a string of numbers separated by
periods.
– These IP Addresses are expressed as set of 4 digits. Each
of these 4 digits is represented by 8 bits of data.

Question 5

IP Version Types :

Answer 5

• IPv4 (IP version 4)
• IPv6 (IP version 6)

Question 6

IPv4 (IP version 4)

Answer 6

• IPv4 employs a 32-bit address.
• It is composed of four numbers separated by a ‘dot’ i.e., periods
  called an octet (byte).
• Each number in the octet can range from 0 to 255.
• Example –172.166.3.28

Question 7

IPv6 (IP version 6)

Answer 7

• IPv6 is the next generation of Internet Protocol addresses.
• In comparison to IPV4, IPv6 has a larger address space.
• IPv6 has a length of 128 bits and is written in hexadecimal.
• It is composed of eight fields, each of which contains two octets.
  As a result, IPv6 has 16 octets in total.
• Example –3221:1cd7:74b6:6da7:0000:0000:7349:6472

Question 8

Advantages of IP address

Answer 8

– These IP Addresses enable efficient Remote
access to devices in network communication.
– IP Address enables the device to run as file
transfer protocol (FTP) Servers.

Question 9

Difference between IP and MAC
addresses

Answer 9

• IP address is called a “logical” address, and the
  MAC address is called a “physical” address :
  – An IP address is also known as a logical address and
  it can change over time as well as from one network
  to another. The Internet Service Provider will be in
  charge of assigning it. When a device connects to a
  different network, it receives a different IP address
  as a result of a change in Internet Service Provider.
  – However, MAC address is provided by the hardware
  interface vendor. It never changes when a device is
  attached to any network. As a result, it is referred to
  as a physical address