[comp.unix.questions] How to get Ethernet address?

hardiman@bcstec.boeing.com (Paul Hardiman) (06/01/91)

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

Ciao 4 now.

mouse@thunder.mcrcim.mcgill.edu (der Mouse) (06/06/91)

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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			new: mouse@larry.mcrcim.mcgill.edu