1415-IGCSE Computer Science

Role of registers and buses in the fetch-execute cycle

The following lists the stages that take place during the fetch execute cycle showing the role of
all the registers and buses in the process

MAC (Media Access Control) addresses

A Media Access Control (MAC) address is a unique number associated with network interface
cards which identify a particular machine or device. This allows all devices to uniquely identify
themselves on a computer network (e.g. the Internet). This address usually consists of 48 bits
which are usually represented as 12 hexadecimal digits in the form:
MM MM MM SS SS SS

or

MM:MM:MM:SS:SS:SS

Where the first six hex digits represent the identification number of the manufacturer of the
device and the second six hex digits represent the serial number of the device.
MAC addresses vs. IP addresses
The MAC address identifies a device connected to the Internet. The IP address gives the location
of a device on the Internet.
It is possible to move a device from one location to another so the IP address will change but not
the MAC address.
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