How is a MAC address typically displayed?

A MAC address (Media Access Control address) is typically displayed in hexadecimal format. This means that it consists of numbers from 0-9 and letters from A-F, which are used to represent values from 0 to 255 in decimal. The standard format includes six groups of two hexadecimal digits, where the groups are separated by either colons (:) or hyphens (-), making it easier for users to read and identify the address clearly.

The use of separators (either colons or hyphens) enhances clarity, especially since a MAC address is 48 bits long, making it cumbersome to read if displayed as a single string without delimiters. This hexadecimal representation is widely adopted in network interfaces as it provides a method to uniquely identify devices on a local network. Thus, understanding the format and representation of a MAC address is fundamental in networking concepts, such as addressing and communication protocols.