What does MAC address stand for in networking?

The term MAC address stands for Media Access Control. It refers to a hardware identification number that uniquely identifies each device on a network. MAC addresses are used in the Data Link layer of the OSI model and serve as a way to ensure that data packets are sent to the correct device on a local area network (LAN). Each MAC address is assigned by the manufacturer and typically consists of six pairs of hexadecimal digits, ensuring that every device has a unique address within the same network.

Media Access Control is crucial for managing network communication, as it determines how information is transmitted over the physical medium, coordinating access to the shared communication channel. This ensures efficient and collision-free transfer of data among multiple devices.

The other options, while seemingly plausible, do not accurately represent the function or meaning of MAC addresses in networking contexts.