IP ADDRESSING

An IP address is a unique number which is given to you when you use your modem to connect to the internet. Every system connected to a network has a unique Internet Protocol (IP) Address which acts as its identity on that network. An IP Address is a 32-bit address which is divided into four fields of 8-bits each. For Example, 203.94.35.12 All data sent or received by a system will be addressed from or to the system. It identifies each sender or receiver of information that is sent in packets across the Internet. When you request an HTML page or send e-mail, the Internet Protocol part of TCP/IP includes your IP address in the message (actually, in each of the packets if more than one is required) and sends it to the IP address that is obtained by looking up the domain name in the Uniform Resource Locator you requested or in the e-mail address you're sending a note to. At the other end, the recipient can see the IP address of the Web page requestor or the e-mail sender and can respond by sending another message using the IP address it received. No two people can have the same IP address at one time and your IP address changes every time you connect. An IP address looks like this: 198.164.32.123 Usually, the first 6 numbers will be the same every time you connect because they tell us what Internet service provider you are using (For example, 198.164 is the standard beginning for a Virgin.net IP address). The last 5 numbers are unique to you. Believe it or not, people can find out absolutely tons of stuff about you just from seeing your IP address. You also probably don't realize that your IP address is logged practically every time you do anything on the net. This happens so that if you do something you shouldn't be (being an evil Haxor for instance!) the people who logged your IP can contact your Internet service provider and get you thrown off the net.

IP ADDRESS CLASSES AND THEIR FORMATS:

Since networks are varying in size, there are four different addresses or classes to consider when applying to NIC for a network number: Class A addresses - for large networks with many devices. Class B addresses - for medium sized networks. Class C addresses - for small networks (fewer than 256 devices). Class D addresses - multicast addresses

IP ADDRESS RANGE: Class A --- 1 -126 (00000001-01111110) 127.0.0.1 is a Loopback address. Class B --- 128-191 (10000000-10111111) Class C --- 192-223 (11000000-11011111) Class D --- 224-239 (11100000-11101111) Class E --- 240-255 (11110000-11111111) Private IP Address: Class A -- 10.0.0.0 to 10.255.255.255 Class B -- 172.16.0.0 to 172.31.255.255 Class C -- 192.168.0.0 to 192.168.255.255 Static and Dynamic IP: Each device in an IP network is either assigned a permanent address (static IP) by the network administrator or is assigned a temporary address (dynamic IP) via DHCP software. Routers, firewalls and proxy servers use static addresses as do most servers and printers that serve multiple users. Client machines may use static or dynamic IP addresses. The IP address assigned to your service by your cable or DSL Internet provider is typically dynamic IP. In routers and operating systems, the default configuration for clients is dynamic IP.