Hi,
Is there any package for displaying the device manufacturer of connected clients based on a OUI lookup of the MAC address? I searched but was unable to find anything.
Thanks!
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Would a database like that, if it exists, even be accurate? A MAC is the local address of any arbitrary device and cannot only be changed at will, many devices and OSes are configured to randomize MAC allocations (all cellular radios, distros like Kali, etc.).
How does one determine that database's, or any MAC database's, accuracy since MACs are local addresses that can be changed or randomized?
- For example, I assign custom chronological MACs on VMs I run in Hyper-V and ESXi, depending on the VM and it's arbitrary interfaces, with those MACs being listed as belonging to manufacturers not representing the hardware or software.
- Since I assume others running multiple VMs do the same to keep things sane across network devices and firewalls, wouldn't relying on such a database be the same as assuming any device with a RFC1918 subnet beginning with 172.x.x.x as likely belonging to an Apple product?
Yes, the OUI is registered to the manufacturer on a global basis so the database from a reputable source is going to be correct.
That is what the OP asked for.
Agreed, there are valid locally administered MAC addresses that are not assigned to a specific vendor, as well as the possibility that the operator of a specific device has overridden the MAC address of one or more interfaces.
By the way, you might want to look into the reserved space for locally administered MAC addresses yourself, because that would be the "sane" way to manage your VMs.
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I'm well aware of the reserved space for MACs and do not utilize it for a variety of reasons in my environment.
- MACs are not like IPs, where one has little choice but to utilize RFC1918 or RFC3297 addresses.
I would also like to have this functionality.
I have it on my Ubiquity Unifi AP, and it is a very useful way to distinguish new devices (like: "I just connected this new IoT thingy, wonder what AP it has connected to").
For instance I can see that my printer insist on connecting to the weakest AP, so I have to force it back to the one right next to it.
Yes I know I can (and I have now) give et at unique hostname, but since it is the only Canon device I own it would be so much easier to just look it up by vendor.
JW0914: I understand your use case, but I'm pretty sure this is not the average users.
Actually I think very few people connect VM's to AP's at all.
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