Part-3 IP Address

 

An IP (Internet Protocol) address is a numerical label assigned to each device connected to a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication. IP addresses serve two main purposes: host or network interface identification and location addressing.

 

There are two types of IP addresses: IPv4 (Internet Protocol version 4) and IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6).

    IPv4 Address Format:

IPv4 addresses are 32-bit numerical labels, usually expressed in dotted-decimal format (e.g., 192.168.0.1). Each of the four octets (8 bits each) represents a part of the address, and the numbers in each octet can range from 0 to 255.

• Example IPv4 address: 192.168.1.1

IPv6 Address Format:

IPv6 addresses are 128-bit hexadecimal numbers, often expressed as eight groups of four hexadecimal digits, separated by colons (e.g., 2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334). IPv6 was introduced to overcome the limitations of IPv4, primarily the exhaustion of available addresses.

• Example IPv6 address: 2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334

 Types of IP Addresses:

 

1.    Public IP Address:

·    Unique address assigned by the Internet Service Provider (ISP) to   identify a device on     the public internet.

·         Used for communication between devices over the internet.

2.    Private IP Address:

·    Used within a private network (e.g., home or business network) to   identify devices.

·         Not routable over the internet.

 

3.    Dynamic IP Address:

·         Assigned by a DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) server.

·         Changes periodically.

 

4.    Static IP Address:

·         Manually assigned to a device and does not change.

·         Typically used for servers or devices requiring a consistent address.

The concept of IP address classes is a historical one and is not as relevant today due to the widespread use of Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR). However, I can provide a brief overview of the traditional IP address classes:

Class A (1.0.0.0 to 126.0.0.0):

• First octet is the network portion.
• Range for the first octet: 1 to 126.
• Supports up to 16 million hosts on each of 128 networks.

Class B (128.0.0.0 to 191.255.0.0):

• First two octets are the network portion.
• Range for the first octet: 128 to 191.
• Supports up to 65,000 hosts on each of 16,000 networks.

 Class C (192.0.0.0 to 223.255.255.0):

• First three octets are the network portion.
• Range for the first octet: 192 to 223.
• Supports up to 254 hosts on each of 2 million networks.

 Class D (224.0.0.0 to 239.255.255.255):

• Reserved for multicast groups.

  Class E (240.0.0.0 to 255.255.255.255):

• Reserved for experimental purposes.