Marvin Dickens wrote:
> MAC addresses contained in the eeproms of network equipment are
> absolutely unique and singular. There
> is no possibility of the a MAC address having plurality unless the MAC
> address in the eeprom contained in the network equipment has been
> altered by someone with a hex editor and an eeprom burner. Sure, you can
> alias the MAC address using software, but the MAC address in the eeprom
> is *never* altered.
This is a lovely theory and generally true.
But this is the computer industry. There have been various "budget"
Ethernet manufacturers that have used the same MAC for an entire
production run, to save costs.
If they go into the consumer market, there's no problem. In businesses,
too, provided they buy their computers individually. But if you buy a
multipack of really identical Ethernet cards...
I understand that this is a real pain to track down if you haven't seen
it before.
James.
--
E-mail address: james | Never ask, "Oh, why were things so much better
@westexe.demon.co.uk | in the old days?"
| It's not an intelligent question.
| -- Ecclesiastes 7 v. 10
