Guide · Manufacturing & provisioning

MAC address allocation spreadsheet template

A starting-point CSV for tracking what you programmed into each unit, with notes on the point where a shared spreadsheet stops being a safe way to allocate addresses.

If you are allocating MAC addresses from a block by hand, a structured spreadsheet is a reasonable starting point for a single product built at one site by one person. This is a template for that, plus a clear line for when to stop using it.

The template

Download the CSV template. It opens in Excel, Google Sheets or Numbers. Columns:

Column	Holds
`serial_number`	The unit's serial, from your scheme. See generating serial numbers.
`mac_address`	The address assigned to this interface, colon-separated.
`interface_type`	`ethernet`, `wifi`, `bluetooth`, `mgmt`. One row per interface if a unit has several.
`product_model`	Model identifier.
`sku`	Orderable SKU, if it differs from the model.
`production_batch`	Your batch or work-order identifier.
`factory`	Site or contract manufacturer that built the unit.
`production_date`	`YYYY-MM-DD`.
`firmware_version`	Firmware loaded at programming time.
`programming_status`	`pending`, `programmed`, `verified`, `failed`.
`shipment_status`	`in_stock`, `shipped`, `scrapped`.
`notes`	Anything a later reader needs.

How to use it

Decide the address range this batch draws from, and record its start and end somewhere outside the per-unit sheet.
Fill mac_address sequentially from the range start. Do not use a fill-down formula that computes the next address; paste values, so a sort or a row insert cannot silently renumber.
One row per interface. A router with Ethernet, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth is three rows sharing a serial_number.
Update programming_status to verified only after reading the address back from the unit.
When the batch closes, record how many addresses in the range were used and where the next batch should start.

When a spreadsheet is enough

One product, or a few with clearly separate prefixes.
One site, one person doing allocation.
Runs that do not overlap in time.
Low enough volume that a manual "next start" note is not error-prone.

When it is not

Two or more factories, or a contract manufacturer, drawing from one block.
Production lines that request ranges at the same time.
A need to answer "was this identifier ours, and when did it ship" from a complete history.
Anyone computing the next identifier with a formula.

At that point the risk is duplicate identifiers in the field, and the fix is a single authority that hands out atomic, non-overlapping reservations. See MAC address pool management for multiple factories, or move the allocation to the tool here, which exports the same per-unit mapping this template is built around.

Avoiding formulas that create duplicates

The single most common way a spreadsheet produces duplicate MAC addresses is a formula that generates the address. =DEC2HEX() across a filled range, an incrementing helper column, a macro that "assigns the next one": each of these is blind to every other sheet, every emailed copy, and every other site. Paste literal values, keep the range bounds outside the per-unit rows, and never let two copies of the sheet both be writable.

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