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An Internet Protocol address (IP address) is a numerical label such as 192.0.2.1 that is assigned to a device connected to a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication. [1] [2] IP addresses serve two main functions: network interface identification, and location addressing.
In the original design of IPv4, an IP address was divided into two parts: the network identifier was the most significant octet of the address, and the host identifier was the rest of the address. The latter was also called the rest field. This structure permitted a maximum of 256 network identifiers, which was quickly found to be inadequate.
This means that 256 /8 address blocks fit into the entire IPv4 space. As IPv4 address exhaustion has advanced to its final stages, some organizations, such as Stanford University , formerly using 36.0.0.0 / 8 , have returned their allocated blocks (in this case to APNIC ) to assist in the delay of the exhaustion date.
There are two primary types of IP addresses in use today: IP version 4 (IPv4) and IP version 6 (IPv6). The former has been around since January 1983 , and is still the most common.
IP addresses in dot-decimal notation are also presented in CIDR notation, in which the IP address is suffixed with a slash and a number, used to specify the length of the associated routing prefix. For example, 127.0.0.1/8 specifies that the IP address has an eight-bit routing prefix, and therefore the subnet mask 255.0.0.0 .
Broadcast address derivation example Network IP address breakdown for 172.16.0.0 / 12 Binary form Dot-decimal notation In bold below is shown the host part (suffix) of the IP address, with the network address prefix being the non-bold bits to its left. To obtain the broadcast address, the host bits get set to all 1's, while the network address ...
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Network diagram with IP network addresses indicated e.g. 192.168.100.3.. A network address is an identifier for a node or host on a telecommunications network.Network addresses are designed to be unique identifiers across the network, although some networks allow for local, private addresses, or locally administered addresses that may not be unique. [1]