What is the WAN MAC address?

Question

What is the WAN MAC address?

I find the new AirPort Utility confusing. And Apple's web site http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5566 fails to explain things clearly. I do not understand what they mean with ethernet address, when there are 4 ethernet ports on the device (AirPort Time Capsule). WAN is AFAIK a well established term, Apple is using it in its manuals, and therefore the utility should use that too. Everything else is confusing and wasting our time.

Apple engineers, please fix this.\

Sincerely yours,

Andreas Fischlin

Posted on Dec 14, 2013 1:48 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

LaPastenague

Level 9

67,202 points

Dec 14, 2013 2:33 AM in response to Andreas fromTheLowFrequencies

I do not understand what they mean with ethernet address, when there are 4 ethernet ports on the device (AirPort Time Capsule). WAN is AFAIK a well established term, Apple is using it in its manuals, and therefore the utility should use that too. Everything else is confusing and wasting our time.

Just so you know.. there is no distinction on the airport between WAN and LAN ports.

All are using the same MAC address. Apple does not use a separate connection to the processor but a single switch chip.. which actually might cause some of the issues they experience. Since there is nothing to define MAC difference WAN to LAN.

So 6.3.1 utility

LAN address.

From Terminal using arp -a command

? (192.168.2.55) at 70:56:81:c5:86:c7 on en1 ifscope [ethernet]

? (192.168.2.55) at 70:56:81:c5:86:c7 on en0 ifscope [ethernet]

WAN address

From the Router Stats page that it is plugged into.

3

192.168.2.55

70:56:81:C5:86:C7

TCGEN4

The old utility 5.6 shows the same level of information.

Apple engineers are unlikely to read your comments.. post your comments direct to apple.

https://www.apple.com/au/contact/feedback.html

The manuals have been seriously out of date for some time.. and I suspect the Engineers are not writing them.. !! Manuals by Engineers tend to be readable only by other Engineers.

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Answer 2

Dec 14, 2013 3:06 AM in response to LaPastenague

Most useful and helpful answer. Thanks a lot. I also didn't know the arp command and you have hinted me to try using the old Snow Leopard AirPort Utility v5.6.1. Thanks also for this! That utility I can obviously still use for reading the status of the base station. This functionality seems to have been preserved quite fine. Thanks Apple.

I agree what you said about engineers and manuals, but Apple used to have an excellent record that these things were consistent and rather well documented. Power users were served as well as novice users with powerful soft- and hardware. I only fear those times are somewhat gone, when I need first to consult a help page to find what the MAC addresses are (nothing on the package, sic) and if I read that I still do not understand what the device is doing. But you very promptly clarified this now. Thanks a lot.

Sincerely yours, Andreas Fischlin

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Answer 3

Dec 14, 2013 3:09 AM in response to Andreas fromTheLowFrequencies

Most useful and helpful answer. Thanks a lot. I also didn't know the arp command and you have hinted me to try using the old Snow Leopard AirPort Utility v5.6.1. Thanks also for this! That utility I can obviously still use for reading the status of the base station. This functionality seems to have been preserved quite fine. Thanks Apple.

I agree what you said about engineers and manuals, but Apple used to have an excellent record that these things were consistent and rather well documented. Power users were served as well as novice users with powerful soft- and hardware. I only fear those times are somewhat gone, when I need first to consult a help page to find what the MAC addresses are (nothing on the package, sic) and if I read that I still do not understand what the device is doing. But you very promptly clarified this now. Thanks a lot.

Sincerely yours, Andreas Fischlin

Reply