Network Tools
Convert IP addresses and MAC addresses to and from hexadecimal — the compact format routers, firewalls, and packet captures use.
- Hex to IPComing soonConvert a hex value into a dotted IPv4 address.
- IP to HexComing soonConvert an IPv4 address into its hexadecimal form.
- Hex to MAC AddressComing soonFormat a hex string as a MAC address.
About Network Tools
Networking formats routinely use hexadecimal for compactness. This category converts IP addresses and MAC addresses to and from hex — the representations you'll see in routing tables, firewall rules, and packet captures.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do routers show IP addresses in hex?
Hex is a compact, fixed-width way to represent the 32-bit IPv4 address space, which is easier to scan in logs and configuration files than four separate decimal octets.
How is a MAC address related to hex?
A MAC address is just 6 bytes, conventionally written as 12 hex digits separated by colons or hyphens.
Why does a hex IP address matter when reading firewall rules?
Some firewall and routing configuration formats store addresses and subnet masks in hex for compactness — converting to and from dotted-decimal is often needed to cross-reference a rule against a familiar IP address.
Does byte order (endianness) affect these conversions?
Yes, for some binary formats — a 32-bit IP address can be stored big-endian or little-endian depending on the system, so if a hex-to-IP conversion looks reversed, check the Endianness Tools category for a byte-order swap first.