For knowing about IP address we should first know about What is IP address? IP address are crucial and important thing for routing data across the internet and local networks, ensuring that information reaches its intended destination.
They are fundamental to how devices communicate with each other on the internet and are used in various network-related tasks and services. Without IP address we can’t imagine any type of communication across internet and globe.
As we know the two main fundamental functions of IP address is “Network interface identification” and “Location addressing“. In this following article we are presenting the complete knowledge about IP address, Uses of IP address, Classes of IP address and also important it’s Versions.
What is IP address?
An IP address, which stands for “Internet Protocol address“, is a numerical label assigned to each device (such as a computer, smartphone, or printer) participating in a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication.
Generally, IP addresses serve two primary functions:
1). Host or Network Identification:
They uniquely identify a device or network on the over internet. This allows data packets to be sent to the correct destination.
2). Location of the Device:
IP addresses can provide information about the approximate geographic location of a device or network, although this is not always precise.
Versions of IP address
There are two versions of IP addresses in common use, which are as follows :
1.) IPv4 address: “Internet Protocol version 4” is the older and more widely used version. It consists of a 32-bit address typically expressed as four sets of numbers separated by periods (e.g., 192.168.1.1). However, the rapid growth of the internet has led to the exhaustion of available IPv4 addresses.
2.) IPv6 address: “Internet Protocol version 6” is the newer and more scalable version. IPv6 uses 128-bit addresses, which provide a vastly larger number of possible addresses compared to IPv4. IPv6 addresses are typically expressed as eight groups of four hexadecimal digits separated by colons (e.g., 2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334).
** IP addresses are crucial for routing data across the internet and local networks, ensuring that information reaches its intended destination. They are fundamental to how devices communicate with each other on the internet and are used in various network-related tasks and services. **
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Define the Classes of IP address
IP addresses are divided into several classes, which were originally designed to accommodate different sizes of networks, from small to large.
However, it’s important to note that with the advent of Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR), IP addressing is now more flexible, and the strict class boundaries are less relevant. Nevertheless, the concept of IP address classes is still useful for understanding the historical structure of IP addressing. The classes are denoted by the first few bits of the IP address.
Here we are presenting the five primary and major useful classes of IP addresses are as follows :-
1). Class A (1.0.0.0 to 126.0.0.0):
Class A addresses has the first bit set to 0. This class was originally intended for large networks, with the first octet (8 bits) used to identify the network and the remaining three octets (24 bits) for host addresses. This allows for approximately 16 million hosts per network.
- The range of providing IP address in Class A is (1.0.0.0 to 126.0.0.0) .
2). Class B (128.0.0.0 to 191.0.0.0):
Class B addresses has the first two bits set to 10. This class was designed for medium-sized networks, with the first two octets (16 bits) for network identification and the remaining two octets (16 bits) for host addresses. This allows for around 65,000 hosts per network.
- The range of providing IP address in Class B is (128.0.0.0 to 191.0.0.0) .
3). Class C (192.0.0.0 to 223.0.0.0):
Class C addresses has the first three bits set to 110. Class C networks are for smaller networks, with the first three octets (24 bits) used for network identification and only the last octet (8 bits) for host addresses. Class C allows for approximately 254 hosts per network.
- The range of providing IP address in Class C is (128.0.0.0 to 191.0.0.0) .
4). Class D (224.0.0.0 to 239.0.0.0):
Class D addresses has the first four bits set to 1110. These addresses are reserved for multicast groups, which are used for one-to-many or many-to-many communication.
- The range of providing IP address in Class D is (224.0.0.0 to 239.0.0.0) .
5). Class E (240.0.0.0 to 255.0.0.0):
Class E addresses has the first four bits set to 1111. This class is reserved for experimental and research purposes and is not used for general IP networking.
- The range of providing IP address in Class E is (240.0.0.0 to 255.0.0.0) .
** Keep in mind that, as mentioned earlier, CIDR has largely supplanted the rigid class system with a more flexible approach to IP addressing. CIDR allows for the use of subnet masks to divide IP address blocks into smaller or larger sub networks as needed. **
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Define the Uses of IP address
The different classes of IP addresses were originally defined to serve specific purposes and accommodate networks of varying sizes.
However, with the introduction of CIDR (Classless Inter-Domain Routing), which allows for more flexible allocation of IP addresses, the strict roles of IP address classes have become less significant.
Nevertheless, here’s a historical overview of the intended uses for each class of IP address are:
Class A Addresses (1.0.0.0 to 126.0.0.0):
- Intended Use: Class A addresses were designed for large networks. The first octet was used for network identification, and the remaining three octets were reserved for host addresses.
- Typical Usage: These addresses were typically allocated to large organizations or entities that required a vast number of hosts within their network.
Class B Addresses (128.0.0.0 to 191.0.0.0):
- Intended Use: Class B addresses were intended for medium-sized networks. The first two octets were used for network identification, leaving the remaining two octets for host addresses.
- Typical Usage: Class B addresses were often assigned to mid-sized organizations and institutions with a moderate number of hosts.
Class C Addresses (192.0.0.0 to 223.0.0.0):
- Intended Use: Class C addresses were meant for smaller networks. The first three octets were designated for network identification, and only the last octet was available for host addresses.
- Typical Usage: Class C addresses were allocated to small businesses, home networks, and organizations with relatively few hosts.
Class D Addresses (224.0.0.0 to 239.0.0.0):
- Intended Use: Class D addresses are reserved for multicast groups. Multicast allows one-to-many or many-to-many communication, typically for streaming data or multimedia applications.
- Typical Usage: Class D addresses are not assigned to individual hosts or networks but rather to multicast group addresses.
Class E Addresses (240.0.0.0 to 255.0.0.0):
- Intended Use: Class E addresses are reserved for experimental and research purposes.
- Typical Usage: These addresses are not generally used for regular internet networking and are reserved for special projects, experiments, or future technologies.
Conclusion
If we conclude about What is IP address, Uses of IP address, Classes of IP address and important knowledge about it’s Versions like IPv4 address and IPv6 address, then we got that each and every organization whatever big or small and we need network connectivity in it, so we can’t establish it without and IP address implementation.
Hope!! you will get all important and possible Fixings about “What is IP address? Define Best Uses, Versions and 5 Classes of IP address” and you done it very well!!
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