NC State University | College of Design | How to Find Your Computer's Ethernet Address

Students no longer need to register for wireless connections in Brooks and Kamphoefner. Use the NCSU wireless network. Students in the Field House, Park Shops, and Downtown Studio do still need to register and use the Design wireless network. All wired connections need to registered.

One of the blanks on the StudioNet Application is for the ethernet adapter address of your computer.

The ethernet adapter address is a 12-digit combination of numbers and letters, also known as the hardware address, physical address, or ethernet address. It is like a fingerprint. At NC State, it is needed to register a computer so that an IP address can be assigned to a computer.

Follow these instructions to get the ethernet address from your computer. Once you get your address, enter it in the space provided on the StudioNet Application.

Make sure you select the correct ethernet address. If you have both wired and wireless ethernet adapters on your computer, each will have an ethernet address. It can be confusing. Be careful to match the correct ethernet address with the correct adapter.

Instructions are provided for Macintosh OS X and Windows XP Pro.
Scroll down and use the appropriate instructions for your computer.

Macintosh OS X Instructions

Open the System Profiler. A quick way to get to System Profiler is to use the Apple menu in the upper left corner of your screen. Select About This Mac from the Apple menu. Then click on the More Info... button. That will open the System Profiler.

Make sure you select the correct ethernet address. If you have both Built-in and Airport ethernet adapters on your computer, each will have an ethernet address. It can be confusing. Be careful to match the correct ethernet address with the correct adapter.

In the left side column, click on Network. Click on Airport or Built-in Ethernet to show the ethernet address for the adapter(s) installed in your computer (Airport is shown by the yellow box below. Built-in Ethernet is shown in the red box below.) Select the appropriate Ethernet Address.

Write down the Address for each ethernet adapter and enter this into the space provided on the StudioNet application. Built-in Ethernet is the main RJ45 ethernet port which uses a cable connected to a walljack. If your computer has an Airport wireless network card installed, it will appear as Airport. If you wish to use the College of Design's wireless network, you will need to enter the wireless address in the space provided on the StudioNet application. You can use both if you'd like. We recommend you use the Built-in Ethernet at your studio desk and Airport (wireless) if you want to use your computer someplace else within the College of Design complex.

One of the ways to get the ethernet address in Windows XP Pro is to use the ipconfig/all command.

Launch the Command Prompt (under Start>Programs>Accessories).This window will appear.

Make sure you select the correct physical address. If you have both wired and wireless ethernet adapters on your computer, each will have an physical address. It can be confusing. Be careful to match the correct physical address with the correct adapter.

Find the Ethernet Adapter information for the appropriate adapter, then the Physical Address line. (The wireless adapter will appear as Ethernet adapter Wireless Network Connection and is shown by the yellow box above. The wired adapter will appear as Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection and is shown in the red box above.) Select the appropriate Physical Address.

Write down the Address for each ethernet adapter and enter this into the space provided on the StudioNet application. Local Area Connection is the main RJ45 ethernet port which uses a cable connected to a walljack. If your computer has an wireless network adapter installed, it will appear as Wireless Network Connection. If you wish to use the College of Design's wireless network, you will need to enter the wireless address in the space provided on the StudioNet application. You can use both if you'd like. We recommend you use the Local Area Connection at your studio desk and the Wireless Network Connection if you want to use your computer someplace else within the College of Design complex.