[X4U] MAC address vs ³ Ethernet Address ²

[Eddie Hargreaves]

I¹m using 10.4 and the MAC Address in System Profiler>Network>Built-in
Ethernet matches the Ethernet ID in System Preferences>Network>Ethernet. If
yours does not, I would recommend calling Apple. You have 90 days of phone
support, take advantage of it.

Also, MAC addresses are unique to each networking capability. So you can
have one for Ethernet, one for AirPort, one for Bluetooth, and maybe even
one for FireWire. Make sure you¹re looking at the right MAC address.

Eddie Hargreaves


On 8/2/05 11:12 AM, Richard Gilmore <rgilmor at uwo.ca> wrote:

> I ran into a bit of weirdness while setting up a new faculty member¹s 20² iMac
> G5 with Tiger. All the machines have to be authorized with the IT department
> here according to MAC address as a security protocol. In all the other Macs
> here the MAC address under the system profiler in Network matches the,
> ³Ethernet Address² number in the Network tab under System Preferences except
> in this one new machine. So this machine has not been able to gain access to
> the internet nor our LAN. As far as I know the MAC address and the ³Ethernet
> Address² should be the same identical number??? I¹ve told IT here about this
> but haven¹t heard back yet. But does this represent a security hazard? The IT
> guys here are super paranoid and I¹m not sure they will allow this machine to
> join our network because of this. It seems to be a screwup from Apple and if
> this is indeed sloppy production it looks very very bad. The IT department
> here is all pro M$ and any excuse they can find to run Apple into the ground
> is the last thing we need around here. When budget renewal comes around
> they¹ve got one more bit of ammo to try and run the Macs out of the building.
> Now they¹re going say they are a security threat because they can¹t be relied
> upon to have something as simple as an accurate MAC address and they¹ll start
> telling the higher up money people not to waste money on these poorly made
> machines etc....I can just hear them now.
> 
> What does the collective wisdom know about this issue?
> 
> Should this machine get returned and exchanged for one that has matching
> addresses? 
> 
> Is it a Tiger issue? All the other machines are Panther and the system prefs
> in Tiger are a little different?
> 
> Or can the MAC address listed in the system profiler be made to match the
> ³Ethernet Address²? Should it?
> 
> How does one discover the true MAC address of the machine?