IP Addressing
IP Addressing
IP Addressing is designed to allow hosts on a network to communicate with another host on a different network.
There are two types of IP address:
- IPv4
IPv4 addresses are 32-bits long. It allows maximum 4,294,967,296 (232) unique addresses.
- IPv6
IPv6 addresses are 128-bits long. It allows maximum 3.4 x 1038 (2128) unique addresses.
IP Terminology
Before starting of IP address, there are several important terms that you should understand about the Internet Protocol, which are:
Bit
It contains only one digit, either 1 or 0.
Byte
It contains 8 bits, depending on whether parity is set or not.
Octet
It is made up of 8 bits, or we can say an ordinary 8-bit binary number.
Network Address
It is used in routing to send packets to a remote network.
Example – A network address can be of type:
10.0.0.0, 172.16.0.0, and 192.168.10.0
Broadcast Address
It is the address used by applications and hosts to send information to all nodes on a network.
Example: A broadcast address can be of type:
255.255.255.255
The Hierarchical IP Addressing Scheme
An IP address is a 32-bit binary number. For readability, this binary number can be divided into four 8-bit octets, and then each octet (or byte) can be converted to decimal number.
There are three methods to write IP addresses.
- Dotted-decimal (172.16.30.56)
- Binary (10101100.00010000.00011110.00111000)
- Hexadecimal (AC.10.1E.38)
Private IP Addresses
The user who creates the IP addressing scheme also needs to create private IP addresses. These addresses can be used on a private network, and not routable through the Internet.
There are three classes in the Private IP Address:
Class A 10.0.0.0-10.255.255.255
Class B 172.16.0.0-172.31.255.255
Class C 192.168.0.0-192.168.255.255
Unicast Address
- One-to-One Communication:
A process where data is delivered from a sender to a receiver is called unicast.
Example: Browsing a website.
Multicast Address
- One-to-Many Communication
A process where data is delivered from a sender to multiple receivers is called multipoint communication or multicast.
Example: ARP request message.
Broadcast Address
- One-to-all Communication
In the Broadcast address, data travels from a single source to all destinations.
Example: Broadcasting an audio or video message.