Which type of address is assigned permanently to a network interface card (NIC)?

The type of address that is assigned permanently to a network interface card (NIC) is the MAC address. A MAC address, or Media Access Control address, is a unique identifier assigned to the network interface of a device by the manufacturer. It operates at the Data Link layer of the OSI model and is used for network communications within a local network segment.

Each NIC comes with a built-in MAC address, which is stored in the hardware itself and is typically hard-coded into the device. This ensures that every device on a local network can be uniquely identified and allows for proper data transfer between devices. Since the MAC address does not change, it serves as a stable means of identification on a local network.

In contrast, an IP address is assigned to a device either dynamically (via DHCP) or statically (manually configured) and can change based on network conditions or configuration changes. A subnet address refers to a segment of an IP address used to identify a specific subnet within a larger network, and it is inherently linked to IP addressing rather than to the hardware of the NIC. A gateway address is used to route traffic from one network to another and is not tied to the NIC itself.