I think this answer and this one say that each ethernet adapter, such as USB-C-Gigabit Ethernet Adapter, has its own MAC address. So, that means Macbook (Pro) doesn't have a built-in ethernet card.
But I'm curious, what are the Thunderbolt MAC addresses then? In my MBP 13" (2015), networksetup -listallhardwareports
command shows ethernet (MAC) addresses of Thunderbolt 1
and Thunderbolt 2
. Also, the result of ifconfig -a
contains bridge0
which has a MAC address.
What are they for, if every ethernet adapter decides the MAC address? Can I just ignore them?
Thank you.
Best Answer
You can connect two Thunderbolt-enabled Macs together using a Thunderbolt-to-Thunderbolt bridge connections, therefore you'd need each end to be able to identify itself.
More information here: https://9to5mac.com/2016/11/22/macbook-pro-thunderbolt-3-bridge-network-video/