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Comments on Unique identifier for a computing system

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Unique identifier for a computing system [closed]

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Closed as unclear by Canina‭ on Dec 18, 2021 at 10:04

This question cannot be answered in its current form, because critical information is missing.

This question was closed; new answers can no longer be added. Users with the reopen privilege may vote to reopen this question if it has been improved or closed incorrectly.

If IP address is a unique identifier of a computing device in a network (LAN and/or WAN) and MAC is a unique identifier for a network card and/or modem, what would be a unique identifier for a computing device in and of itself (used by software installed on that computing device to refer to the computing device itself)?

It might be a mainboard unique identifier, it might be an operating system installment unique identifier, both or one string for both; what is the terminology to use here?

terminology
posted almost 3 years ago
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3 comment threads

What do you want to achieve? (1 comment)
IPs and MACs are not unique, nor persistent, nor necessarily available, identifiers (2 comments)
How do you define a "computing system"? (1 comment)
What do you want to achieve?
4015.alt‭ wrote almost 3 years ago · edited almost 3 years ago
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as mentioned in Canina‭ comments, you need to identify what do you mean by a computing system. and IPs and MACs are in many cases dynamic and not unique.

I add to this, that a good approach would be to specify what do you want to achieve first:

  • preventing users form installing software on their OS without the proper licenses?
  • identifying individual across a network, or the web?
  • controlling access to a LAN?

each of this cases seems, at 1st sight, to require some sort of devices identification. and each of them can be done differently than the others