MAC address of Genesy2 FPGA board

[Sunil kumar]

Hi,

We are using Genesys2 FPGA board to validate our custom built Ethernet 1G MAC design. Do we need to use the MAC address stored in the Quad-SPI Flash or need to configure this in our design?

Thanks,

Sunil

[zygot]

If you are implementing your own MAC design in logic then the MAC address can be anything that you want it to be. It doesn't even have to be static.

This of course presents a problem if your hardware is connected to a LAN or the internet as there are not supposed to be any two MACs with duplicate addresses. Assuming that the address in the Genesys2 FLASH is unique somewhat strains credibility, as does the notion that all of the internet connected devices out there might be unique.

In truth you don't even need to incorporate a formal "MAC:" structure in an Ethernet design implemented in logic. Edited February 13 by zygot

[JColvin]

Adding on to what zygot mentioned, you'll find that many mobile phones will also randomize their MAC address when connecting to a WiFi network by default (Android has some information on it here: https://source.android.com/docs/core/connect/wifi-mac-randomization-behavior), because (in my limited understanding of network operation at large) this would be a localized address within that subnet, so the odds of matching somebody elses MAC address within that same small amount of devices is quite small.

Regardless, localized or unique MAC, you'll have a bad time if there is a match as the different communication frames will end up at the wrong device, so that neither device works properly.

But that is about as far as my knowledge goes on this particular topic.