How To Find Ip Address Based On Mac Address

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How to Detect an IP Address using a MAC Address

In this tutorial nosotros show you lot how to use mutual and freely available tools and methods to observe an IP address using a MAC address.

UPDATED: December two, 2021

It is mutual for network administrators and computer users to PING a device to observe the IP address of a website, a host, or even a hostname. But, what if the only information you had was a MAC accost and yous needed to find out to whom it belonged? Perhaps you want to dig for more information based on a MAC address that has been listed in your router or you need to know who has been accessing your local network.

Well, finding an IP address from a MAC accost is the topic nosotros will be looking at in this article.

IP address vs. MAC accost

Let's delve right in, have a expect at these two terms, and hash out what they are and why we need them at all.

Define IP address

An Internet Protocol or IP address is a numerical label or address assigned to each device that is connected to a computer network that uses IP (Internet Protocol) for advice.

An IP address serves ii primary purposes: for host or network interface identification and location addressing of a connected device. This address tin can exist assigned manually by configuring a device to save a Static IP Address, or automatically by a DHCP server (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol server) which assigns a Dynamic IP Address.

An IP address can be in the format of xxx.xxx.thirty.xxx (IP V4) or abcd:efgh:ijkl:mnop:qrst:uvwx:yzab:cdef (IP V6). It is as well e'er unique – no two devices on the same subnet can have the same IP address. If they do, it will cause an IP accost conflict.

Define MAC address

A Media Admission Control or MAC address is besides a uniquely assigned accost. Like an IP address, a MAC address also serves every bit an identifier for each device. Merely, in this case, the address is assigned to the hardware that is used to make the connection possible. In the example of a desktop or laptop computer, this hardware is the Network Interface Bill of fare (NIC).

MAC addresses are written in the "AA:BB:CC:DD:DD:FF" format. The beginning three numbers (i.e. AA:BB:CC) are used to identify a NIC's manufacturer and are known as an Organizational Unique Identifier (OUI). The OUI is followed by a unique identifier since here too at that place tin can exist no two devices with the same MAC address.

From the paradigm above, we tin can see that a MAC accost is a hexadecimal number. The NIC converts this hexadecimal number of the MAC address into binary numbers earlier processing and using it on the network.

Therefore, we can at present say that a MAC address is a unique hardware identification number that is assigned to a NIC, whereas an IP address is an address that helps you identify a network connection that leads to the NIC, and thence, the host machine.

Finally, we demand to retrieve that continued devices can each take two IP addresses:

A Private or Internal IP address: this is to be used on a Local Expanse Network (LAN) and for connectivity and messaging within an internal network. The ranges are all-time explained in the table below:

Prefix	IP From…	IP To…	Total No. of Addresses
10.0.0.0/8	10.0.0.0	ten.255.255.255	16,777,216
172.16.0.0/12	172.xvi.0.0	172.31.255.255	ane,048,576
192.168.0.0/16	192.168.0.0	192.168.255.255	65,536

These addresses (and hence the devices) are not globally reachable, and cannot be searched or accessed from across the LAN. Also, they are not necessarily unique identifiers – a private IP can exist used in 2 unlike network subnets.

A Public or External IP address: this address is used to connect to the Internet – for a global online presence.

The IP range for these addresses is from 0.0.0.0 to 255.255.255.255 – the whole range (with the exception of private IP addresses and a few unusable or reserved IPs, of course).

Devices and hosts with public or external IPs are globally accessible and can be reached from beyond the network they are on. The addresses are unique across the Cyberspace and tin fifty-fifty exist used to decide the location of a device because each country is assigned a range of addresses by the Internet Assigned Numbers Say-so (IANA) and its regional subsidiary agencies that include AFRINIC (Africa), ARIN (Us, Canada, and some Caribbean nations), APNIC (Far Eastward and Australia), LACNIC (Mexico, Central America, and S America), and RIPE NCC (Europe, Middle East, and Central Asia). This makes it easy to find out where a user is connecting from.

Ok; but why practice we need both an IP and a MAC accost?

This is a valid question considering the fact that each accost uniquely identifies a host or device. Merely, take into consideration the fact that although TCP/IP – which uses the IP protocol – remains the well-nigh pop communication (in fact, information technology tin exist said to exist the most ascendant one since the Cyberspace uses it), it is not the Simply transport protocol.

For example, IPX/SPX (Internetwork Packet Commutation/Sequenced Packet Exchange) addresses each computer using the MAC address (and some boosted data). This makes it necessary for an alternative device addressing arrangement.

How to observe your own IP and MAC addresses

We volition at present wait at how you lot can observe the IP and MAC addresses of your auto or some other one that is connected to the network.

Windows systems

1. Go to START ->
2. Type "CMD" or "Command" to become to the Command Prompt awarding.
3. When the Command Prompt shortcut appears, right-click on information technology and select "Run equally administrator".

4. In the command prompt CLI, type "IPConfig/all" and you lot should run across something similar to:

In this screenshot, the Concrete Address is the MAC address 70-71-BC-69-03-EB.

Incidentally, the IP addresses (in two IP protocol formats) are: ten.0.110.219 (IPv4) and fe80::a034:180d:4963:369a%10 (IPv6).

Linux systems

At that place are several ways of displaying your IP address from your Linux CLI. The 3 best ways are using the commands:

1. ip address
2. ifconfig –a
3. hostname –i

Equally tin be seen in the paradigm higher up, the three commands display different outputs. The first command – ip address – is the most informative one. What'southward more than, information technology tin can also be used to get further, detailed information past throwing in some arguments. Just have a expect at the assistance to get an idea of the parameters y'all can utilize:

Calculation these arguments to the ip command results in details and grants access command (likewise every bit configuration capabilities) of routes, neighboring devices, and fifty-fifty the network, for instance.

Annotation: the screenshot was taken from an emulator (hence the IP address 127.0.0.one – the default address for IPv4 loopback traffic) and your output will likely vary from the screenshot.

macOS systems

On a macOS device:

1. Open System Preferences – by clicking the Apple logo dropdown menu.
2. Go to Internet & Wireless.
3. Click on
4. Choose the connection device – Wi-Fi or Ethernet – that is dark-green (indicating a live connection).
5. When selected, information technology should say Connected and evidence yous the IP address on the correct side.

Image source: OSXDaily.

A little lower, and to the right, you will exist able to run across the Options button. Click on information technology and you will be able to see more than information, including the device's MAC address.

If y'all're more of a technical user, y'all can opt to run Terminal to find out your (local) IP address using the command "ipconfig getifaddr en0".

Image source: Tridev Computer.

Finally, we shouldn't forget that the Linux commands also work on macOS:

Note: here too, we have used an emulator and the results may look different on your screen.

How to detect MAC addresses on a network

Next, permit united states of america see how we tin can find the MAC addresses of the devices on a segment of a network. The protocol nosotros will be using is the Address Resolution Protocol or ARP.

This protocol helps routers by translating IP addresses into MAC addresses (or vice versa) to make information technology piece of cake for data packets to be delivered to the right host. The result is displayed in a table that allows y'all to easily place which IP accost belongs to what MAC address.

From your control line – in whatever operating system – y'all can use the "arp –a" command to list the MAC addresses in your network segment. Here'south what it will expect like on a Windows automobile:

To see what the arp command does yous can run the command "arp /?" to invoke the assistance feature.

Moving on to a Linux emulator, information technology would look like this:

And, finally, on a macOS CLI the event would await like this:

Recall, although we have just seen that we can find the MAC addresses using the arp command, as network users, we can only run across the addresses of the devices that are on the aforementioned subnet we are on. Administrators, on the other manus, can have the detailed information of the whole network at their disposal.

Windows'Active Directory (Advertising), for instance, gives you the whole network's MAC address data as Unique IDs in its DHCP list. This listing too provides the corresponding IP addresses.

Image source: The Backroom Tech

Other Methods used to find the IP accost using Mac Accost

Ok; we have spent time looking into how you can find the IP address and MAC addresses using commands and, in some instances, features in authoritative tools like Microsoft'due south Advertising. The disadvantages hither are that:

• Manually typing in the CLI commands is too deadening a task to perform in larger networks where conflicts and issues occur too often.
• This is also why round-the-clock monitoring for rogue devices would exist out of the question – (unless of course some technical know-how was acquired to run scripts that automated the scanning tasks).
• Using enterprise tools like Microsoft's Advertisement could be out of the reach of businesses and network owners with smaller budgets; and likewise, information technology wouldn't brand sense for them to invest in them at all equally the ROI wouldn't be worth information technology.

The all-time IP accost to MAC accost (or vice versa) resolution tools would, therefore, be complimentary network monitoring tools that tin can perform these tasks without the need for homo intervention.

Let'south have a look at four such tools.

one. Spiceworks IP Scanner

For companies that have a mixed operating system topology, it makes sense to employ Spiceworks' IP Scanner because it can scan for devices running Windows, Linux, or OSX. It is also efficient because, every bit a cloud tool that uses a tiny agent to practise the scanning, it doesn't bear upon your network's performance or interfere with the devices' execution as they are being queried.

Some important features from IP Scanner include:

• The tool lists device details that include name, manufacturer, IP address, operating system, MAC address, and even spot whatsoever open ports.
• It scans your local network and returns a sortable list of the devices it discovers.
• Admins tin encounter the concluding fourth dimension a device was polled to find out if information technology is currently upwards or down.
• They tin likewise come across which devices operate using legacy operating systems and use the list for upgrade campaigns.
• In fact, they tin can even spot open ports that put the devices at run a risk.

This is a handy suite of tools on its own, only there are many more solutions from Spiceworks that it can integrate with for fifty-fifty more effectiveness in network assistants.

Pros:

• The amanuensis tin exist installed on Windows, Linux, or Mac
• Ideal tool for longer-term monitoring
• Cracking interface makes it easy to view all ports, services, and their current land

Cons:

• Won't piece of work offline, merely corking for simple web-based monitoring

You can offset using SpiceWorks IP Scanner by signing upwards for FREE.

2. Eusing Gratuitous IP Scanner

This tool is for admins who choose to only use Windows computers. It is a tiny (433 KB) but a nifty tool to quickly run and scan all the devices that are on a network.

Apart from being tiny, and having an almost-zero digital footprint, Eusing's Free IP Scanner gives admins the verbal information they need and displays it in a no-nonsense, detailed tabular array. The data includes:

• A report showing all devices that are connected to the network, with their IP addresses, MAC addresses, user names, and any open up ports.
• The ability to limit scans by using IP accost limits.
• It uses multi-thread scanning which allows it to scan hundreds of computers on large networks in mere seconds.
• Alternatively, admins can upload IP addresses as text-file lists for customized scanning.
• Scan results can also be exported to text files for safekeeping or later access.

Users of this free IP scanner will appreciate the fact that information technology is a tool that was created for the precise purpose it was named after and is piece of cake to use and extract information from.

Pros:

• Lightweight application – great for legacy machines
• Provides simple information on address ranges, hostnames, ports, and user
• Allows users to limit their scanning range

Cons:

• Better suited for short tests, not applicable for long term monitoring

Download your copy of Eusing IP Scanner for Costless.

3. ManageEngine OpUtils

ManageEngine's OpUtils comes to us from Zoho, a visitor that is well-known for its online office and business software suites. With OpUtils too, it has continued to uphold this tradition and has delivered a high-quality tool that offers superior operation.

OpUtils is an "IP address and switch port management" tool that is easy to install and use. There are also Windows and Linux versions to download and they also come with the database options for PostgreSQL or Microsoft SQL Server in the dorsum.

This is a tool with a browser interface that makes it like shooting fish in a barrel to configure and run without burdening a network or hogging other resource.

Amidst its many other features, OpUtils offers:

• Browse your network (or a subnet) and listing IP and MAC addresses – notice out which ones you've used and the transient ones.
• Admins can use this tool to resolve – and pair – DNS and MAC addresses for a range of IP addresses.
• Information technology can be used to ban "rogue" IP (or MAC) addresses – which tin be uploaded via txt file lists, for example.
• There are sets of CISCO and SNMP tools included to help with network administration, configuration, and diagnostics.
• Access to ping, traceroute, proxy ping, and SNMP ping – network command tools to bank check if devices are online and, if they are, to collect information similar DNS names, locations, and organisation descriptions.

With this tool in hand, administrators tin can not merely resolve (back and forth) betwixt their MAC and IP addresses only as well take total control of their network and connected devices. Needless to say, this is a tool for businesses and administrators of larger networks.

Pros:

• Supports IP direction and physical switch port monitoring
• Offers built-in troubleshooting tools to assistance
• Supports CISCO and SNMP tools to help configure, administrate and diagnose bug
• Ameliorate suited for sysadmin

Cons:

• Offers many avant-garde features and options, not suited for small-scale home networks

You tin can download your FULL FREE version of ManageEngine OpUtils hither (the tool reverts to the free version after thirty days).

What other information can you get from a MAC address?

Now, some might however wonder why they would need to resolve a MAC address into an IP address. Well, apart from finding the IP address of a device, at that place is more information that tin can be extracted from a MAC address, including:

• Network – once the IP address has been identified, it is easy to determine the network it is connected to.
• Hostname – using the ping command will testify the device's name and more detailed descriptive information.
• Manufacturer – most NICs are "tagged" by the companies that brand them; this information can be used to build a clearer contour of the continued device.

Finally, information technology is important to know that a MAC address cannot be propagated beyond your local expanse network. In fact, the router uses the MAC addresses to easily identify the devices that are connected within the local network.

This means that if you tin run across a MAC accost listed in the router (past using the arp command, for instance) and you realize it doesn't belong to one of your own devices, then there is a chance you might take a rouge device connected directly to your network!

Alternatively, you can reverse this theory and consider the fact that, since your MAC address is registered in a router (that also maps it to an IP address), the data can be used to trace your online activity. This can be avoided with the help of a VPN or proxy server, especially when y'all demand to ensure your privacy.

Well, that's that. Let united states know what you think about the human relationship between your IP and MAC addresses by leaving usa a comment below.

Source: https://www.comparitech.com/net-admin/how-to-find-an-ip-address-using-a-mac-address/

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