IP address : Part 1

An Internet Protocol (IP) address is a numerical identification (logical address) that is assigned to devices participating in a computer network utilizing the Internet Protocol for communication between its nodes. Although IP addresses are stored as binary numbers, they are often displayed in more human-readable notations, such as 192.168.100.1 (for IPv4), and 2001:db8:0:1234:0:567:1:1 (for IPv6). The role of the IP address has been characterized as follows: "A name indicates what we seek. An address indicates where it is. A route indicates how to get there."

Originally, an IP address was defined as a 32-bit number and this system, now named Internet Protocol Version 4 (IPv4), is still in use today. However, due to the enormous growth of the Internet and the resulting depletion of the address space, a new addressing system (IPv6), using 128 bits for the address, had to be developed. IPv6 is now being deployed across the world; in many places it coexists with the old standard and is transmitted over the same hardware and network links.

The Internet Protocol also is responsible for routing data packets between networks, and IP addresses specify the locations of the source and destination nodes in the topology of the routing system. For this purpose, some of the bits in an IP address are used to designate a sub network. (In CIDR notation, the number of bits used for the subnet follows the IP address. E.g. 192.168.100.1/16) An IP address can be private, for use on a LAN, or public, for use on the Internet or other WAN.

In early specifications, IP addresses were intended to be uniquely assigned to a particular computer or device.[citation needed] However, it was found that this was not always necessary as private networks developed and address space needed to be conserved (IPv4 address exhaustion). RFC 1918 specifies private address spaces that may be reused by anyone; today, such private networks typically access the Internet through Network Address Translation (NAT). In addition, technologies such as any cast addressing have been developed to allow multiple hosts at the same IP address but in different portions of the Internet to service requests by network clients.

The global IP address space is managed by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA). IANA works in cooperation with five Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) to allocate IP address blocks to Local Internet Registries (Internet service providers) and other entities.

IP Versions:

The Internet Protocol (IP) has two versions currently in use (see IP version history for details). Each version has its own definition of an IP address. Because of its prevalence, "IP address" typically refers to those defined by IPv4.