Technology and computers have become such an integral part of our daily lives that the need to understand some of the principle concepts behind the Internet is valuable – even for the casual Internet user. With this in mind, this article will help to explain the basics in terms of what is an Ip address? You may have come across this terminology or you might not have but either way an Ip address is a crucial element to understand as it enables us to interact and communicate with other computers and electronic devices.
An Ip address stands for Internet Protocol address. This address is made up of a unique sequence of numbers, which is connected to a machine. In other words each and every computer will have an Ip address assigned to it. This is how computers are able to communicate with each other and is used as a way of identification. This means that when users are searching for a website and type the URL into the browser, the Internet will convert this URL into an IP address in order to locate which server or computer that website is being stored on. There are two types of Ip address currently in use; the IPv4 and the IPv6. The IPv4 is still the most commonly used version and is what most routers are configured for. This version of Ip address uses 32-bit addresses, which has been considered somewhat limiting due to the significant growth that has taken place in terms of the Internet. For this reason IPv6 was developed, which uses a 128-bit address instead. While IPv4 is still the most widely used, there is a gradual change taking place as routers and hardware are slowly being upgraded to IPv6.
There are a lot of guidelines in terms of how Ip address can appear. Typically an Ip address consists of 4 digits, which are separated by a period. Each set of four can range from 0 -255 with some numbers being reserved and thus not applicable within a standard Ip address. Each computer that is connected to a network needs to have its own Ip address. These Ip address can also be broken down into different classes from A through to E. Which class a particular organization or company will fall into will depend on how many Ip address they require. For example, Class A is usually reserved for multi-national corporations while Class C is used for small to medium sized companies.
These cover some of the fundamentals principles in answer to what is an Ip address. It is a key element to the functioning of the Internet as we know it, and by understanding better what Ip address are all about, your knowledge of the Internet and how it works is much more in-depth.