find out the mac-address of a device on the network

[VJ]

Hello,

A strange question, but how I can find out the mac address of a networked device?

Ok, on a PC, it is simple, but what if the device is a set top box, or a TV, ... Can I issue a command from a PC in the same network to find out the MAC address of another device on this network?


Jörg

[az]

I don't know, but the Squeezebox has its address on a sticker on the bottom, and you can also see it in its settings menu (and I think in the server web interface as well, but I'm too lazy to check, except if you want to know. Damn, all that typing, I could have just looked in the time it took me to write this. But I'm not gonna do it now - without an explicit wish from you - because that would waste even more of my precious (MY PRECIOUSSSS!) energy).

I believe many devices have the mac address on some sticker or maybe in the manual or on the CD sleeve etc.

[GNEP]

I'd use the web interface of my router or whatever is providing DHCP services on my little network - it'll usually provide a table of MAC adresses next to internal IPs.

edit: I meant DHCP not DNS

[VJ]

Yes, I know it is listed on a sticker for most devices. But I was just wondering if there is another way of finding it out.
For wifi connections, I think it is possible to query the status of the wifi-portion of a router. It is often also listed in the DHCP client list of a router, but I wonder if there is a simple tool on windows that lets you find the information.
edit: GNEP beat me to it.

But if one is using a wired, non-dhcp connection, I don't know of a way to figure it out.


Jörg

[lowlifecat]

arp?

not barking

[Gurm]

Buy a net sniffer, plug it one-to-one into the device?

[MultimediaMan]

This is something I do on an almost daily basis - unfortunately.

Searching for a Windows device is easy: ping the device by name, and get the IP address,

Then run the following command:

nbtstat -A "ipaddress" no quotes, this will give you the name.

For a cleaner command try this script:

@ECHO OFF

SET WRKSTN_NAME=%1

FOR /F "tokens=3" %%a IN ('PING %WRKSTN_NAME% -n 1 ^| FIND /i "reply"') DO SET IP_RAW=%%a

FOR /F "delims=: tokens=1" %%b IN ("%IP_RAW%") DO SET WRKSTN_IP=%%b

FOR /F "tokens=4" %%c IN ('NBTSTAT -A %WRKSTN_IP% ^| FIND /i "mac address"') DO SET WRKSTN_MAC=%%c

ECHO.
ECHO Name Queried: %WRKSTN_NAME%
ECHO IP of Name Queried: %WRKSTN_IP%
ECHO NETBIOS MAC Address of Name Queried: %WRKSTN_MAC%
ECHO.

For non-Windows devices, you ping the device and look at the ARP table...

@ECHO OFF

SET DEVICE_IP=%1

FOR /F "tokens=2" %%a IN ('ARP -a ^| FIND /i "%DEVICE_IP%"') DO ECHO. & ECHO %%a& ECHO.

Hope this helps.

[Kooldino]

Fun.

Me? I just use the GUI devices. I think Angry IP scanner does this.

But it's good to know how to do it as MMM posted.

[Helevitia]

Most switches and routers have the ability to see the mac address table. You can either issue a command or look at some gui menu for the info. Here is an example from my WRT54G at home:

[Jammrock]

As it turns out there's a built in command line program in windows called ... GetMac:

GETMAC [/S system [/U username [/P [password]]]] [/FO format] [/NH] [/V]

Description:
This command line tool enables an administrator to display the MAC
address for one or more network adapters on a system.

Parameter List:
/S system Specifies the remote system to connect to.

/U [domain\]user Specifies the user context under
which the command should execute.

/P [password] Specifies the password for the given
user context. Prompts for input if omitted.

/FO format Specifies the format in which the output
is to be displayed.
Valid values: "TABLE", "LIST", "CSV".

/V Specifies that the detailed information
should be displayed in the output.

/NH Specifies that the "Column Header" should
not be displayed in the output.
Valid only for TABLE and CSV formats.

/? Displays this help/usage.

Examples:
GETMAC /FO csv
GETMAC /S system /NH /V
GETMAC /S system /U user
GETMAC /S system /U domain\user /P password /FO list /V
GETMAC /S system /U domain\user /P password /FO table /NH



To save the results to a text file use the [command] /FO CSV > [filename].cvs. The CSV can then be opened in Excel to do stuff with. Or you can use TABLE or LIST and export (>) to a .TXT file.

Jammrock

[Jon P. Inghram]

I'd run Wireshark and then plug the item in question into the network with the PC and turn it on.

[VJ]

Thanks guys!
(helpful as ever )


Jörg

[MultimediaMan]

A little bit more about GetMAC; it is designed to enumerate all MAC addresses on the system indiscriminately...it will not associate an IP address with a MAC address; it also requires credentials to run on a remote system, making it much less useful. However, for Multi-NIC systems running on multiple subnets, GetMAC is a godsend, especially when troubleshooting a misconfiguration.