The Internet Protocol Address (or IP Address) is a logical numeric address that is assigned to each and every computer, printer, switch, router, or other device that is connected to a TCP/IP network. The majority of IP addresses look something like this:
151.101.65.121 Other IP addresses you could encounter look something like this:
2001:4860:4860::8844
What is an IP Address Used For?
A networked device’s identification is determined by its IP address. IP addresses distinguish devices on a network from one another in the same way that a home or business address provides that specific physical place with an identifying address. I need to know the exact location of a package I’m sending to a buddy in another country.
It’s not enough to send a parcel addressed to him in the mail and expect it to arrive.
Instead, I’ll have to attach a specific address to it, which you may find in a phone book. When delivering data over the Internet, the same fundamental procedure is employed.
Instead of looking up someone’s name in a phone book to find their physical address, your computer looks up a hostname in DNS servers to find its IP address.
Each sender or recipient of information sent in packets across the Internet is identified by an IP address. The TCP/IP protocol is the standard for network communication in most networks today, including all computers on the Internet. The IP address is the foundation of the networking architecture; without it, no network would exist.
The Internet Protocol section of TCP/IP incorporates your IP address in the message (actually, in each of the packets if more than one is required) and transmits it to the IP address when you request an HTML page or send e-mail. The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority manages the IP address space on a global scale (IANA).
Types of Internet Protocol (IP address)
Dynamic IP addresses are assigned (through DHCP) each time a computer connects to a network. DHCP assigns IP addresses from a pool of available addresses that are part of the addressing system as a whole.
Despite the fact that DHCP only offers dynamic addresses, many machines reserve static IP addresses that are given to a single entity and cannot be used again. The most often used mechanism for assigning addresses is DHCP. It eliminates the administrative overhead of giving each device on a network a unique static address.
It also permits devices to share a network’s limited address space if only a few of them are online at the same time. Static IP – Permanent “static” IP addresses are often assigned to network infrastructure equipment such as servers, routers, and firewalls.
Static IP addresses are preferred for applications such as VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), online gaming, and any other situation in which users need to make it easy for other computers to find and connect to them. Because static IP addresses are easier to monitor for data mining reasons, they are regarded less secure than dynamic IP addresses.
What are IPv4 and IPv6?
An IP address is defined as a 32-bit number in Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4).
Because of the way IPv4 numbers are built, they may supply over 4 billion distinct IP addresses. However, as the Internet has grown, so has the number of available IPv4 addresses.
Dot-decimal notation is used to represent IPv4 addresses, which are made up of four decimal numbers. Human-readable notations are used to write and display IPv4 addresses, such as 172.16.254.1. In 1995, a new version of IP (IPv6) was developed, with a 128-bit IP address, and standardised as RFC 2460 in 1998.
Since the mid-2000s, IPv6 implementation has been ongoing. Hexadecimal is used to write IPv6 addresses. 2001:db8:0:1234:0:567:8:1 is a common format for IP addresses. Should global connectivity or routing policy change, IPv6 has the ability to automatically update the routing prefix of whole networks without requiring internal redesign or human renumbering.
