ENC28J60 and MAC addresses

[SCV]

For r&d purposes I may just make up a MAC code but, it looks like IEEE want to relieve me of $855 for a small batch of MAC addresses. Are there any generic codes one might use? Product will be a very low volume (<200 units) so looking at the best cost effective option.

Cheers,
Tim.

[kcsl]

If these devices will be on a private network then you have some options. If you want to set them free in the wild, then I don't think you have any option but to purchase a range for your devices.

1. Locally Administered Addresses (LAA):
Range: The MAC addresses with the second least significant bit of the first octet set to 1 are considered locally administered. This bit is often referred to as the Universal/Local (U/L) bit.
Example: If the first octet of the MAC address is 02, 06, 0A, 0E, etc., it indicates a locally administered address.
How it works: In the address 02:00:00:00:00:01, the first octet 02 means it's a locally administered MAC address. You can set this bit manually to create a MAC address that won't clash with vendor-assigned addresses.

2. Unicast MAC Addresses for Private Use:
Range: Addresses in the range 02:00:00:00:00:00 to 02:FF:FF:FF:FF:FF are often used for private, non-public-facing purposes.
How it works: These addresses are not globally unique but are designed to work within a controlled environment like a lab or private network.

3. Test MAC Address Range (Xerox):
Range: The block 00:00:00:00:00:00 to 00:00:00:FF:FF:FF was historically assigned to Xerox but is often used for testing purposes.
Caveat: While this range is historically non-conflicting, using these addresses outside of a controlled environment might cause issues with devices that expect global uniqueness.

[tumbleweed]

You can get serial EEPROMS that also contain a MAC address... some thing like the 24AA02E48 cost about 0.30 USD in singles. There are others, both in I2C and SPI formats.

You could also use the ENC24J600 instead, which gets you 10M/100M instead of just 10Mb and comes with a pre-programmed MAC address.

[SCV]

Thankyou

[JonW]

Tim

We had the same problem, our CEM bought a smaller batch of 200k for us.  If you PM me with your email, i'll ask them for 200 consecutive ones for you.  We keep a log and will just block these out, will take a few days to get them.  We have 150 odd in the UK for development and I can allocate 50 for you if you need them asap.

[SCV]

Thanks Jon, most generous. No urgency at the moment and the addressed eeprom look a good option at the moment. Next step is to actually get control of the J60 which shouldn't be too tricky. I suspect the IP protocol is going to be the head scratcher, moving packets is the easy bit...

Cheers,
Tim.

[JonW]

No problem, at the qty we obtained they are a few cents per address.  I have requested them, so should only take a few days, dont bother with the E2.  Dont forget to send me your email

[JonW]

Tim I have the Mac addresses, please PM me your email address

Jon