The last logical hop before data becomes a raw electrical signal.

New device joins LAN → DHCP server (address pool) → Device receives an IP address

Within a LAN, devices at the Data Link layer communicate using these MAC addresses, not IP addresses.

Before a network-layer packet can hit the physical wire, the Data Link Layer wraps it into a frame containing (at minimum):

• The sender's Data Link layer address (MAC)

• The IP address of the destination, carried inside the encapsulated packet

Network-layer packet → wrapped into → Data Link frame