What is a multicast MAC address?

A multicast MAC address is a specific type of MAC address used in networking to send data to multiple devices simultaneously, rather than a single destination. The range of multicast MAC addresses in Ethernet starts with the prefix 01-00-5E, which is reserved for Internet Protocol multicast addressing.

The correct choice, which is 01-00-5E-00-00-03, falls within the valid range of multicast MAC addresses. To elaborate on this specific address: the last two bytes (00-00-03) are used to identify a specific multicast group. When a device sends a frame to this MAC address, it indicates that the frame is intended for all devices that have joined the multicast group associated with it. Multicast addresses allow for efficient data distribution, especially in scenarios where the same data needs to be sent to multiple recipients, such as streaming media or real-time applications.

The other addresses, while they share the correct multicast prefix, correspond to different multicast groups. Each unique multicast MAC address corresponds to a specific group, and selecting the correct address is critical for proper data delivery to the intended recipients.