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→Setting the MAC address
Dave owns an IAB (Individual Address Block, a set of 4096 addresses), that is in the public listing, so everyone can find out that an address is associated to Dave. Note that the registration authority provides only IABs and OUIs (16000000+ addresses), and that a company is not allowed to request another IAB until at least 95% of the MAC addresses of the previous IAB have been used.
Customers who build their products around using DAVE's processor modules (Naon, Lizard, Qong, Zefeer,...) usually provide MAC numbers by themselves by acquiring them from IEEE. In fact there are many reasons for that. Three can be stressed:
* A CPU module is NOT an end-product. It is not a product that goes directly to the final user as a LAN PCI board, or a printer server. So, in case of CPU modules, who gets a CPU module and build its own product with it, is responsible for handling the MAC address.
* Even if DAVE programs the MAC address in flash (as an example) at manufacturing stage, customer may erase, overwrite, modify this number for the actual CPU module. Also, the strategy and the position (NOR, NAND, E2PROM,...) of the MAC address may vary. DAVE cannot guarantee - in other words - that MAC address is maintained in the form and position it had when delivered.
* An end-product hosting a DAVE's CPU module is not always a DAVE's product. When it is (and there are some examples), DAVE puts the proper MAC address on the product. When it's not, DAVE can't provide MAC addresses: as already stated, the list of DAVE's MAC addresses is public, and reading this list someone can see that the product manufacturer is DAVE, which is not true.
= On-the-field software upgrades =
