redjupiter(redjupiter@xxxxxxxxxxxx)@2002.12.20 21:50:10 +0000:
<snip>
HI Again,
Sorry, was dragged out to continue christmas shopping by the wife :-)
OK, I guess I can do that. My understanding was that each NIC has its
own unique MAC address and not two cards may have the same address. so
what you are saying now is that it's ok as long as they are on different
networks. I never understood it that way.
I also understood that the MAC address is hard wired, i.e builtin in the
card. I know I sound confused, I don't just want to do it but I want to
understand it as well. I know some cards on soem embedded systems
have/must have the last three digits to be unique and so the programmer
is allowed to assign his own first three digits.
Sorry to dwell on this but I really want to understand it.
thanks.
The MAC address must be unique to the network, as mentioned before, as the
MAC address on a packet is only good until the next router, when it's
changed for the next hop. You are correct in that the MAC is hardcoded,
but that does not mean that you can't override it in software (which is
what is suggested). More technical info can be found in any book
explaining how TCP/IP works.
Go ahead and try it... change the MAC to that of the realtek with the
/etc/start_if.fxp0 file and see how it works.
