IP address
An Internet Protocol address (IP address) is a numerical label assigned to each device (e.g., computer, printer) participating in a computer network that uses the Internet protocol suite for communication.
Contents
Definition
An IP address serves two principal functions: host or network interface identification and location addressing.
Role
Its role has been characterized in the saying:
- A name indicates what we seek.
- An address indicates where it is.
- A route indicates how to get there.
IP version 4
The designers of the Internet Protocol defined an IP address as a 32-bit number and this system, known as Internet Protocol Version 4 (IPv4), is still in use today.
IP version 6
Because of the growth of the Internet and the predicted depletion of available addresses, a new version of IP (IPv6), using 128 bits for the address, was developed in 1995.
IPv6 was standardized as RFC 2460 in 1998, and its deployment has been ongoing since the mid-2000s.
Human-readable notation
IP addresses are usually written and displayed in human-readable notations, such as:
- 172.16.254.1 (IPv4)
- 2001:db8:0:1234:0:567:8:1 (IPv6).
Authority
The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) manages the IP address space allocations globally and delegates five regional Internet registries (RIRs) to allocate IP address blocks to local Internet registries (Internet service providers) and other entities.
See also
- Computer network
- Hypertext Transfer Protocol
- Internet protocol suite
- Internet
- localhost
- Virtual host
External links
- IP address @ Wikipedia
