Wired and Wireless Networks Have the Same MAC

[Bulldog17]

The image here is taken from my router's web interface.

As you can see, the MAC address for the wireless 5 GHz port is the same MAC address as the wired (LAN) port. How can these two have the same MAC address?

 

[reedo_43]

I would assume that it is because it is the same physical device.

 

[boosted1g]

Ya know, I have never looked at my router at that, now I am going to have to look.

I would think that they would have different addresses as they are different interfaces.
You can be connected to both wifi and wired at the same time so you would think that would require different mac addresses.

 

[backoffmanImascientist]

Wired / wireless are just access options for the same device. One discrete device = One MAC address.

 

[reedo_43]

I have an ATT U-verse DLS 4 port router + wireless. It only shows one mac. Just putting that out there. Interesting, but should not be a problem.

 

[Bulldog17]

Wired / wireless are just access options for the same device. One discrete device = One MAC address.

My 2.4 GHz wireless port has a different MAC address.

 

[bill001g]

It makes things much more complex for devices if you have different mac addresses.

Both wireless networks and the wired lan network are the same large subnet/broadcast domain. The router only has a single ip address on all these networks. When it receives a ARP for its ip from a client it must respond with a mac. It is much more simple if it always responds with the same one no matter which interface it is on. It could I guess use different mac for each interface but it would then have to keep track of much more data.

 

[backoffmanImascientist]

Wired / wireless are just access options for the same device. One discrete device = One MAC address.

My 2.4 GHz wireless port has a different MAC address.

Nothing says you can't have more than one discrete device in the same box.

 

[reedo_43]

Ok already, I keep getting email notifications on this thread. There is no problem here and not much to be learned. Close it already. Don't mean to be rude, but I do not believe anyone involved is benefiting from this continuing.

 

[Bulldog17]

It makes things much more complex for devices if you have different mac addresses.

Both wireless networks and the wired lan network are the same large subnet/broadcast domain. The router only has a single ip address on all these networks. When it receives a ARP for its ip from a client it must respond with a mac. It is much more simple if it always responds with the same one no matter which interface it is on. It could I guess use different mac for each interface but it would then have to keep track of much more data.

I did not change any MAC addresses. This is how the router came to me from Asus: One MAC address for the 2.4 GHz port and one MAC address for both the 5 GHz and the wired LAN ports. The two MAC addresses different by one digit.

 

[Bulldog17]

Ok already, I keep getting email notifications on this thread. There is no problem here and not much to be learned. Close it already. Don't mean to be rude, but I do not believe anyone involved is benefiting from this continuing.

I am not sending you notifications. Your notification settings are in your profile.

 

[backoffmanImascientist]

Just click "Stop Tracking This Thread" above in the OP's first post, and "Unfollow" as well if that is an option..

 

[Bulldog17]

I'll look elsewhere for an answer.

 

[Bulldog17]

For any who are interested:

According to Asus technical support, the wireless network (WLAN) should have its own MAC address separate from the wired network (LAN.) However, in Asus' particular implementation of this, one of the wireless networks - in my case it's the 5GHz network - shares the MAC address of the LAN.

Their engineers designed it that way for a reason, probably a very technical reason. It only matters to me that there is a reason and it's correct for this router.