Network, Networking Technology, Data Communication Terms, Glossary and Dictionary

BIA: Burned-in MAC Address

Burned-in MAC address (BIA), also known as Burned-In Address, is the last six bytes of a MAC address that are assigned by the manufacturer of a network interface card (NIC). This address sometimes can be overridden by the user, in which the second bit of the most significant byte of the Organisationally Unique Identifier (OUI) is changed to a binary 1. In this case, the NIC is said to be using as a Locally Administered Address (LAA) as its MAC address. If the NIC is not configured to use an LAA as its BIA, then the second bit of the most significant byte of the OUI is changed to a binary 0. In this case, the NIC is said to be using a Universally Administered Address (UAA) as its MAC address.

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BIA: Burned-in MAC Address