Which device typically has a MAC address permanently embedded?

Which device typically has a MAC address permanently embedded?

• A. NIC
• B. Router
• C. Switch
• D. Cable

Answer: (A)

MAC addresses are hardware identifiers built into the network interface card itself. The NIC comes with a unique MAC address burned into its firmware (non-volatile memory) by the manufacturer, so it remains tied to that specific card. Routers and switches have MAC addresses for their interfaces too, but those can be configured or changed per interface, whereas the NIC’s address is the original, embedded identifier. A cable, on the other hand, is just a conductor and does not have a MAC address. So the device most likely to have a MAC address permanently embedded is the NIC.

MAC addresses are hardware identifiers built into the network interface card itself. The NIC comes with a unique MAC address burned into its firmware (non-volatile memory) by the manufacturer, so it remains tied to that specific card. Routers and switches have MAC addresses for their interfaces too, but those can be configured or changed per interface, whereas the NIC’s address is the original, embedded identifier. A cable, on the other hand, is just a conductor and does not have a MAC address. So the device most likely to have a MAC address permanently embedded is the NIC.