IP address is a very common term that we hear in our everyday life. Lets discuss in detail what exactly an IP address is..
Every device connected to the public Internet is assigned a unique number known as an Internet Protocol (IP) address. This number uniquely identifies the device and distinguishes it from other devices on the network. Networks using the TCP/IP protocol route messages based on the IP address of the destination.
Within an isolated network, you can assign IP addresses at random as long as each one is unique. However, connecting a private network to the Internet requires using registered IP addresses (called Internet addresses) to avoid duplicates.
Now lets see how an IP address looks like..
An IP address consists of four numbers separated by periods (also called a ‘dotted-quad’) and typically looks like 122.169.25.39. To make it easier for us (humans) to read and remember, IP addresses are normally expressed in decimal format as a "dotted decimal number" like the one above. But computers communicate in binary form.
Look at the same IP address in binary : 00111010.10101001.00011001.
The four numbers in an IP address are called octets, because they each have eight positions when viewed in binary form. If you add all the positions together, you get 32, which is why IP addresses are considered 32-bit numbers. Since each of the eight positions can have two different states (1 or 0) the total number of possible combinations per octet is 28 or 256. So each octet can contain any value between 0 and 255. Combine the four octets and you get 232 or a possible 4,294,967,296 unique values !
Now, this design of IP as a 32-bit number was developed by the original designers of TCP/IP and this system, now named as Internet Protocol version 4 or IPv4 is still in use. However, due to the enormous growth of the Internet and the resulting depletion of the address space, a new addressing system (IPv6), using 128 bits for the address, has also been developed. Both the systems of IP addressing are being used.
Continuing with the structure of IP address.. The octets, about which we were discussing, serve a purpose other than simply separating the numbers. They are used to create classes of IP addresses that can be assigned to a particular business, government or other entity based on size and need. The octets are split into two sections: Net and Host. The Net section always contains the first octet. It is used to identify the network that a computer belongs to. Host (sometimes referred to as Node) identifies the actual computer on the network. The Host section always contains the last octet.
The Class of the address determines which part belongs to the network address and which part belongs to the node address. All nodes on a given network share the same network prefix but must have a unique host number.
There are five IP classes plus certain special IP addresses..about which we will be discussing in our next article..
References:
• http://www.howstuffworks.com/
• http://en.Wikipedia.org/
• http://www.webopedia.com/
• http://www.searchwindevelopment.com/
Every device connected to the public Internet is assigned a unique number known as an Internet Protocol (IP) address. This number uniquely identifies the device and distinguishes it from other devices on the network. Networks using the TCP/IP protocol route messages based on the IP address of the destination.
Within an isolated network, you can assign IP addresses at random as long as each one is unique. However, connecting a private network to the Internet requires using registered IP addresses (called Internet addresses) to avoid duplicates.
Now lets see how an IP address looks like..
An IP address consists of four numbers separated by periods (also called a ‘dotted-quad’) and typically looks like 122.169.25.39. To make it easier for us (humans) to read and remember, IP addresses are normally expressed in decimal format as a "dotted decimal number" like the one above. But computers communicate in binary form.
Look at the same IP address in binary : 00111010.10101001.00011001.
The four numbers in an IP address are called octets, because they each have eight positions when viewed in binary form. If you add all the positions together, you get 32, which is why IP addresses are considered 32-bit numbers. Since each of the eight positions can have two different states (1 or 0) the total number of possible combinations per octet is 28 or 256. So each octet can contain any value between 0 and 255. Combine the four octets and you get 232 or a possible 4,294,967,296 unique values !
Now, this design of IP as a 32-bit number was developed by the original designers of TCP/IP and this system, now named as Internet Protocol version 4 or IPv4 is still in use. However, due to the enormous growth of the Internet and the resulting depletion of the address space, a new addressing system (IPv6), using 128 bits for the address, has also been developed. Both the systems of IP addressing are being used.
Continuing with the structure of IP address.. The octets, about which we were discussing, serve a purpose other than simply separating the numbers. They are used to create classes of IP addresses that can be assigned to a particular business, government or other entity based on size and need. The octets are split into two sections: Net and Host. The Net section always contains the first octet. It is used to identify the network that a computer belongs to. Host (sometimes referred to as Node) identifies the actual computer on the network. The Host section always contains the last octet.
The Class of the address determines which part belongs to the network address and which part belongs to the node address. All nodes on a given network share the same network prefix but must have a unique host number.
There are five IP classes plus certain special IP addresses..about which we will be discussing in our next article..
References:
• http://www.howstuffworks.com/
• http://en.Wikipedia.org/
• http://www.webopedia.com/
• http://www.searchwindevelopment.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment