(^526) PC Hardware: A Beginner’s Guide
Network Addressing
Althoughthisisahardwarebook,thenetworkaddressingschemeusedissomethingthat
should be included in any discussion on networking. There are essentially two levels of
addressing used on a network: physical and logical. The physical addressing is the MAC
(media access control) address that is burned into a NIC or network adapter by its manu-
facturer. The elements of logical addressing are the share names assigned to devices on
the network and, if the TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) protocols
are in use, the IP (Internet Protocol) address of each network node.MAC Addresses
Every NIC and network adapter is assigned an ID code that is unique to the world, called
the MAC (media access control) address, by its manufacturer. The MAC address is
burned into the firmware of the NIC and cannot be changed. The MAC address is the basisFigure 20-10. The star topology is used to create network clusters that are then attached to the
network backbone