Which term uniquely identifies each node on a network?

Which term uniquely identifies each node on a network?

• A. MAC address
• B. CAM table
• C. macof
• D. Port security

Answer: (A)

A MAC address uniquely identifies each node on a local network. It is a hardware identifier assigned to every network interface card by the manufacturer, and it operates at the data link layer to distinguish devices within the same broadcast domain. Because it’s baked into the NIC, each device typically has a unique MAC address, which switches use to forward frames to the correct destination port. This is why frames on a LAN rely on MAC addresses for delivery, even though higher-level protocols (like IP) handle routing across networks. A CAM table on a switch records which MAC addresses are reachable on which ports, enabling efficient forwarding. But the CAM table itself isn’t the identity of a device—it’s the switch’s map of where to reach known MAC addresses. macof is a tool used to flood such tables to perform a MAC flooding attack, not a method of identifying devices. Port security uses MAC addresses to control access, but again, it’s about enforcing policy rather than providing the unique identifier itself. So, the MAC address is the term that uniquely identifies each node on a network.

A MAC address uniquely identifies each node on a local network. It is a hardware identifier assigned to every network interface card by the manufacturer, and it operates at the data link layer to distinguish devices within the same broadcast domain. Because it’s baked into the NIC, each device typically has a unique MAC address, which switches use to forward frames to the correct destination port. This is why frames on a LAN rely on MAC addresses for delivery, even though higher-level protocols (like IP) handle routing across networks.

A CAM table on a switch records which MAC addresses are reachable on which ports, enabling efficient forwarding. But the CAM table itself isn’t the identity of a device—it’s the switch’s map of where to reach known MAC addresses. macof is a tool used to flood such tables to perform a MAC flooding attack, not a method of identifying devices. Port security uses MAC addresses to control access, but again, it’s about enforcing policy rather than providing the unique identifier itself.

So, the MAC address is the term that uniquely identifies each node on a network.