IP MYADDRESS SERIES

Without IP addresses, there would be no Facebook, no email, and no web browsing at all. IP addresses help organize the internet - which is why hiding, changing, and protecting your IP address is important. Without this critical protocol address between devices and networks, the internet wouldn’t be able to fulfill your data requests. The purpose of IP addresses is to map the web and send data to the right place. Why do we need IP addresses?Ĭomputers need IP addresses to communicate with other online devices and networks. When you type a search query like What is an IP address into Google, the internet retrieves that data (in this case, search results such as a link to this article) and sends it to your device.Īll this happens instantaneously. When you request something online, the internet “knows” where to send that request thanks to your IP address. These rules define how data is transmitted between electronic devices - in other words, the protocols determine how computers talk to one another over a network. The internet is a global network of computers that function on the basis of protocols, or rules. To understand how IP addresses work, we first need to look at the basic definition of the internet. Understanding how IP addresses work can help you make better decisions about online security and privacy. Instead of getting physical mail, IP addresses ensure you get the data you request, such as search results, websites, and emails. IP addresses work as unique identifiers for each online device, like a mailing address.

Together, this string of alphanumeric characters lets you reach the internet.Įxample IP address of various devices connected to the same network. The network ID combined with the host ID creates the IP address. A host has only one IP address a network has many. Their IP address configuration might look like this:įor each host (device) on a network, the network part of the IP address is the same, while the final number of the address is different because it identifies the different hosts. Let’s say you have a bunch of devices at home, all of which require an IP address to connect to the internet. The host ID portion of an IP address indicates the particular device you’re using to connect to your network (it’s the “1” at the end in the first example above). The network ID is assigned by an internet service provider (ISP) if you’re connecting from home via a wireless router, by a company network if you’re connecting at work, and by a public network if you’re connecting at, say, a Starbucks.Ī network can be as small as two computers connected to each other, or as large as the internet itself. The network ID is the part of an IP address that identifies which network you’re using to connect to the internet (“172.16.254” in the first example above).

But first, let’s examine the two key components of an IP address: the network ID and the host ID. Why are there different types of IP addresses and why does IP address configuration vary so much? We’ll get into the different types of IP addresses and the roots of IPv4 and IPv6 a little later. This second example is a bit more complex - it’s what’s known as an IPv6 address.

IP MYADDRESS SERIES

Think of an IP address as a series of numbers and periods that behave similarly to a street address, so that your device can send and receive data from the internet. Together, this dotted-decimal format is called a 32-bit number. In the example above, the first number is 172, the second number is 16, the third number is 254, and the fourth number is 1. Here’s an IP address example:Įach of the four numbers in an IP address does not need to be a complete three-digit number. Let’s take a closer look and break it down. Within each IP address, you can see the network ID - assigned to your network by your ISP, and the host ID - the unique identifier assigned to each device connected to that specific network. IP addresses generally consist of four numbers ranging from 0 to 255, separated by periods. Your computer and internet service won’t work without IP addresses. All these activities connected to the internet are considered “data requests” and require an IP address. IP addresses connect you to the websites you visit, the emails you open, and the videos you watch. What can you do with an IP address? Pretty much everything online. Just like people and businesses need a home address to send and receive letters in the mail, internet devices need a digital address to send and receive data. IP addresses ensure that data transmission goes to the right location.

Ip myaddress