What is an IP Address and How Does It Work?

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What is an IP address?

An IP address is a unique identifier for each machine (device) that uses the Internet. This identifier, known as your Internet Protocol Address, is written as a sequence of numbers separated by periods. (Do a Google search for “What is your IP address?” To find out your IP address.)

This is a broad explanation

If you want to go a little deeper, we can talk about two different standards of IP addresses. Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) is the latest version of IP, and Internet Protocol Version 4 (IPv4) was the first IP address used by the public. Many addresses are IPv4. This is the most common IP used on devices connected to the Internet.

IPv6 uses eight blocks of four 16-digit numbers; was developed as an update to meet the need for more addresses. Theoretically, there are 340 andesillion IPv6 addresses. This is more of an address than atoms on Earth’s surface.

How do IP addresses work?

When you are online to send an e-mail, you access a network that is connected to the Internet itself, or a network that gives you access to the Internet. You are probably connected to any internet service provider (ISP) you own at home or use a company network in the office. To do this successfully, your computer uses the Internet Protocol, and your IP address is used as a virtual return address to connect.

Sidebar: Reads the IP address

The blocks of 16-digit numbers that make up an address are called octets. These octets form an address scheme that covers different types of networks. (These networks have five different classes, from A to E.)
IP addresses are divided into two parts: the network address and the host address (host = specific device on the network) . This is where they all come together. The first few octets in an IP address identify the network. The exact number of octets depends on the network class. For example, in a Class A address, the network part is used in the first octet, and the rest of the address is used to indicate subnets and hosts. The first two octets in a Class B address are part of the network, the rest are subnets and hosts, and so on. range.

How are IP addresses assigned?

All of these addresses are assigned by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority. Specifically, IANA assigns blocks of IP addresses to regional Internet registries. In turn, these regional registers assign addresses to ISPs, companies, schools, and similar entities in their territories. That is, your IP address comes from your company’s network or from the ISP that received that address from the regional internet registry where the block of addresses from IANA is assigned. This is a process.

Where is the router located?

Yes. Routers are important. This box, full of dust-collecting ports in your living room, converts data to connect you to the Internet and provides security through a firewall.
In its simplest form, routing is what we call the process of transferring IP packets from network to network. You probably know the router as a device you set up to access the Internet. To do this, your router actually connects to the networks and redirects the traffic between them as a switchboard.

To connect to networks, the router uses network cards, each of which is physically connected to a network and communicates with each other throughout the IP system to ensure that data is transferred to the correct endpoints / endpoints . This means that when you visit the TeleGeography homepage, one data packet comes from your computer and another packet that downloads your query is received by it. This communication jumps between the two endpoints because the routers transmit and manage this information.

Related: You may be interested to know about the BGP- Border Gateway Protocol, a special protocol that exchanges information between autonomous systems on the Internet. Simply put, BGP is a protocol often used by ISPs, so it’s worth exploring.

Is this related to VPNs?

You may have read more about Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) recently .

Yes, IP addresses are related

In short, a VPN is a secret network that shares information through a social network such as the Internet. When using a VPN, a user’s IP address will actually be replaced by their VPN provider , but this is a completely separate blog post.

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