Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions
Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!think.com!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!thunder.mcrcim.mcgill.edu!mouse
From: mouse@thunder.mcrcim.mcgill.edu (der Mouse)
Subject: Re: How to get Ethernet address?
Message-ID: <1991Jun6.141155.28721@thunder.mcrcim.mcgill.edu>
Keywords: Ethernet
Organization: McGill Research Centre for Intelligent Machines
References: <897@bcstec.boeing.com>
Date: Thu, 6 Jun 91 14:11:55 GMT
Lines: 20

In article <897@bcstec.boeing.com>, hardiman@bcstec.boeing.com (Paul Hardiman) writes:

> How does one programmaticcaly ascertain the machine address (the 6
> byte code of the communications card) of a connected peer.

In general one cannot.  The remote machine may not even *have* an
Ethernet address; it may be connected by a SLIP line or a fiber-optic
network or any of a zillion other possibilities.

There isn't even any portable way to obtain the *local* Ethernet
address; I doubt there's even a portable way to tell whether the local
machine *has* an Ethernet address.

Why do you care?  I suspect you're trying to solve the wrong problem.

					der Mouse

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