How does the internet protocol handle network card numbers?
- by Giorgio
I know that data packets sent over the internet carry the source and destination IP address, so that the protocol can route the data to the correct destination and keep track of the source address of the packet.
But what about the network card address? As far as I know, each network card has a unique identification number. Is this also transmitted with a TCP/IP packet? And when a packet is received at its destination, how is the IP address mapped to a network card number?
In other words.
On the sender part: does the sender store the sender network card number in the IP packets that it is sending?
On the receiver part: which component maps the IP address to the receiver's network card number when a packet is received? E.g., in a home network, does the modem / router map the destination IP address of an incoming packet to a network card number and deliver the packet directly to that network card?
A link to documentation on these topics would be of great help.
