An Internet Protocol address is a unique identifier assigned to a device connected to the Internet that gives a mechanism for data transfer. But what, in the real sense, is an IP address? How does it function? And why should I care? This article has delved into the meaning of an IP address, including types and other important things concerning networking.
What is an IP Address?
An ip address is a numerical label given to every device connected to a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol to communicate. The therefold functions of being:
- Identification – Differentiate devices in a network.
- Location Addressing – Geographical or network location of that device.
In this manner, a custom address is unique for each IP address that secures deliverance in a specific destination.
Types of IP Addresses
An IP address can be grossly divided into different types depending on its applicability and other operational use-of-case.
1. IPv4 versus IPv6
- IPv4 (Internet Protocol Version 4) – Uses 32-bit address format (e.g. 192.168.1.1) and is for approximately 4.3 billion addresses.
- IPv6 (Internet Protocol Version 6): A 128-bit address format (e.g., 2001:db8::ff00:42:8329) created for even more addresses as the devices in the world keep increasing connected to the Internet.
2. Public vs. Private IP Addresses
- Public IP Address: It is an address assigned by the Internet Service Provider (ISP) and used to communicate over the internet.
- Private IP Address: Locally used within a Local Area Network (LAN), and are not directly reachable from the internet.
3. Static vs. Dynamic IP Addresses
- Static IP Address: A permanent address which is manually configured at a device.
- Dynamic IP Address: Address assigned temporarily by DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) server; changes from time to time.
How An IP Address Works
The working of IP addresses that makes the devices communicate follows as such:
- Requests to some web site – i.e. typing in some URL in a browser.
- Names like google.com are resolved to their respective IP addresses by the DNS(Domain Name System).
- Data packets move through different networks until they reach the desired IP.
- Then, the server responds by sending data to this same device.
An IP address is also an indication of the fact that the devices are otherwise stranded not knowing the actual IP address of the target.
