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network-programmingip-addressvpnmac-address

Find the IP of an internet host using its MAC adress only


I would like to avoid VPN for permanent connection to a remote host, I would like to replace the static IP address with the MAC address, and using the MAC to find the IP.


Solution

  • You can't. The MAC is used for local routing, not global routing. A MAC on a remote network is hidden by a gateway on the remote side. You can't even tell which gateway is doing that. It's even possible that the IP address doesn't have a MAC address behind it. This was the case for instance with dial-up lines; there would be a phone number behind it.

    This explains why there's no API for this.