Changing the MAC address forces the DHCP server to issue a new IP address assignment. However, you should not use a random number, as there is a possibility that it could conflict with someone already using that number.
The only way there would be a problem is if I accidentally picked the MAC of the Telus gateway. The chance of that happening is 1 in 281,474,976,710,656.
The only way there would be a problem is if I accidentally picked the MAC of the Telus gateway. The chance of that happening is 1 in 281,474,976,710,656.
The MAC address is a unique number that is used by broadcast packets to identify where the packet originates from on a LAN. The DHCP service for example uses the MAC address to assign and index an IP address assignment. The DHCP service must know the physical location of an IP address in order to route the packets correctly. Since the ADSL network is nothing more than a very large virtual LAN, two identical MAC addresses could confuse the hell out of such a service.
