Internet Protocol (Ip) Address
An internet protocol (IP) address is an identifier for a computer or a device that is on a Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). Networks that use the TCP/IP protocol route messages to their intended destination based on the IP address of the destination. In a sense, an IP address is analogous to the postal code on a postal address.
The format of an IP address is a 32-bit numeric address, written as four numbers separated by periods. Each number can range from 0 to 255. For example, 10.85.189.24 could be an IP address. Each number is called a class. If a network is isolated from the Internet, IP addresses can be assigned at random as long as each one is unique. But when connecting a computer to the Internet, the IP address, which can now be called an Internet address, must be registered to avoid duplication of the address. The services of a network administrator is helpful for this purpose.
In addition to an IP address, a so-called subnet mask is necessary to indicate how the address is to be read. For example, a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0 applied to an IP address of 10.85.189.24 indicates that the host number is 24, located on the 10.85.189 sub-network. Also, another component, called a default gateway, is used to specify the address for the nearest hardware device known as a routing device. The host computer uses the routing device to send addressed information on to the network.
An IP address can be configured manually, by entering the settings on the computer before the computer is joined to the network. This type of configuration is called static IP addressing. The task of assigning IP addresses, while not complicated for small networks, can become onerous for large networks. Furthermore, if a particular computer is moved to a different region of the network, a new address may be necessary.
The four numbers in an IP address can be used to designate a particular network and a host on that network. The InterNIC Registration Service assigns Internet addresses from three classes. Class A supports 16 million hosts on 127 networks. Class B supports 65,000 hosts on each 16,000 networks. Class C supports 254 hosts on 2 million networks. The number of numerical combinations afforded by four address categories with up to 255 possibilities in each category is huge. But, the exponential growth of the Internet has used up the Class A and B addresses, and the Class C addresses will soon be exhausted, and it will be necessary to develop a new IP address scheme. A new protocol, designated IP version 6, or IPv6, has been defined to replace IP.
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