IP address From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia For the Wikipedia user access level, see Wikipedia:User access

levels#Unregister ed_users. Page semi-protected An Internet Protocol address (IP address) is a numerical label assigned to each device (e.g., computer, printer) participating in a computer network that uses t he Internet Protocol for communication.[1] An IP address serves two principal fu nctions: host or network interface identification and location addressing. Its r ole has been characterized as follows: "A name indicates what we seek. An addres s indicates where it is. A route indicates how to get there."[2] The designers of the Internet Protocol defined an IP address as a 32-bit number[ 1] and this system, known as Internet Protocol Version 4 (IPv4), is still in use today. However, due to the enormous growth of the Internet and the predicted de pletion of available addresses, a new version of IP (IPv6), using 128 bits for t he address, was developed in 1995.[3] IPv6 was standardized as RFC 2460 in 1998, [4] and its deployment has been ongoing since the mid-2000s. IP addresses are binary numbers, but they are usually stored in text files and d isplayed in human-readable notations, such as 172.16.254.1 (for IPv4), and 2001: db8:0:1234:0:567:8:1 (for IPv6). The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) manages the IP address space allo cations globally and delegates five regional Internet registries (RIRs) to alloc ate IP address blocks to local Internet registries (Internet service providers) and other entities. Contents [hide] 1 IP versions 1.1 IPv4 addresses 1.1.1 IPv4 subnetting 1.1.2 IPv4 private addresses 1.2 IPv4 address exhaustion 1.3 IPv6 addresses 1.3.1 IPv6 private addresses 2 IP subnetworks 3 IP address assignment 3.1 Methods 3.2 Uses of dynamic address assignment 3.2.1 Sticky dynamic IP address 3.3 Address autoconfiguration 3.4 Uses of static addressing 4 Public addresses 5 Modifications to IP addressing 5.1 IP blocking and firewalls 5.2 IP address translation 6 Diagnostic tools 7 See also 8 References 9 External links IP versions Two versions of the Internet Protocol (IP) are in use: IP Version 4 and IP Versi on 6. Each version defines an IP address differently. Because of its prevalence, the generic term IP address typically still refers to the addresses defined by IPv4. The gap in version sequence between IPv4 and IPv6 resulted from the assign ment of number 5 to the experimental Internet Stream Protocol in 1979, which how ever was never referred to as IPv5.

IPv4 addresses Main article: IPv4#Addressing Decomposition of an IPv4 address from dot-decimal notation to its binary value. In IPv4 an address consists of 32 bits which limits the address space to 4294967 296 (232) possible unique addresses. IPv4 reserves some addresses for special pu rposes such as private networks (~18 million addresses) or multicast addresses ( ~270 million addresses). IPv4 addresses are canonically represented in dot-decimal notation, which consis ts of four decimal numbers, each ranging from 0 to 255, separated by dots, e.g., 172.16.254.1. Each part represents a group of 8 bits (octet) of the address. In some cases of technical writing, IPv4 addresses may be presented in various hex adecimal, octal, or binary representations. IPv4 subnetting In the early stages of development of the Internet Protocol,[1] network administ rators interpreted an IP address in two parts: network number portion and host n umber portion. The highest order octet (most significant eight bits) in an addre ss was designated as the network number and the remaining bits were called the r est field or host identifier and were used for host numbering within a network. This early method soon proved inadequate as additional networks developed that w ere independent of the existing networks already designated by a network number. In 1981, the Internet addressing specification was revised with the introductio n of classful network architecture.[2] Classful network design allowed for a larger number of individual network assign ments and fine-grained subnetwork design. The first three bits of the most signi ficant octet of an IP address were defined as the class of the address. Three cl asses (A, B, and C) were defined for universal unicast addressing. Depending on the class derived, the network identification was based on octet boundary segmen ts of the entire address. Each class used successively additional octets in the network identifier, thus reducing the possible number of hosts in the higher ord er classes (B and C). The following table gives an overview of this now obsolete system. Historical classful network architecture Class Leading bits Size of network number bit field Size of rest bit field Number of networks Addresses per network Start address End address A 0 8 24 128 (27) 16,777,216 (224) 0.0.0.0 127.255.255.255 B 10 16 16 16,384 (214) 65,536 (216) 128.0.0.0 191.255.255.255 C 110 24 8 2,097,152 (221) 256 (28) 192.0.0.0 223.255.255.255 Classful network design served its purpose in the startup stage of the Internet, but it lacked scalability in the face of the rapid expansion of the network in the 1990s. The class system of the address space was replaced with Classless Int er-Domain Routing (CIDR) in 1993. CIDR is based on variable-length subnet maskin g (VLSM) to allow allocation and routing based on arbitrary-length prefixes. Today, remnants of classful network concepts function only in a limited scope as the default configuration parameters of some network software and hardware comp

onents (e.g. netmask), and in the technical jargon used in network administrator s' discussions. IPv4 private addresses Early network design, when global end-to-end connectivity was envisioned for com munications with all Internet hosts, intended that IP addresses be uniquely assi gned to a particular computer or device. However, it was found that this was not always necessary as private networks developed and public address space needed to be conserved. Computers not connected to the Internet, such as factory machines that communica te only with each other via TCP/IP, need not have globally unique IP addresses. Three ranges of IPv4 addresses for private networks were reserved in RFC 1918. T hese addresses are not routed on the Internet and thus their use need not be coo rdinated with an IP address registry. Today, when needed, such private networks typically connect to the Internet thro ugh network address translation (NAT). IANA-reserved private IPv4 network ranges Start End No. of addresses 24-bit block (/8 prefix, 1 A) 10.0.0.0 10.255.255.255 16777216 20-bit block (/12 prefix, 16 B) 172.16.0.0 172.31.255.255 1048576 16-bit block (/16 prefix, 256 C) 192.168.0.0 192.168.255.255 65536 Any user may use any of the reserved blocks. Typically, a network administrator will divide a block into subnets; for example, many home routers automatically u se a default address range of 192.168.0.0 through 192.168.0.255 (192.168.0.0/24) . IPv4 address exhaustion IPv4 address exhaustion is the decreasing supply of unallocated Internet Protoco l Version 4 (IPv4) addresses available at the Internet Assigned Numbers Authorit y (IANA) and the regional Internet registries (RIRs) for assignment to end users and local Internet registries, such as Internet service providers. IANA's prima ry address pool was exhausted on 3 February 2011, when the last 5 blocks were al located to the 5 RIRs.[5][6] APNIC was the first RIR to exhaust its regional poo l on 15 April 2011, except for a small amount of address space reserved for the transition to IPv6, intended to be allocated in a restricted process.[7] IPv6 addresses Main article: IPv6 address Decomposition of an IPv6 address from hexadecimal representation to its binary v alue. The rapid exhaustion of IPv4 address space, despite conservation techniques, pro mpted the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) to explore new technologies to expand the addressing capability in the Internet. The permanent solution was dee med to be a redesign of the Internet Protocol itself. This next generation of th e Internet Protocol, intended to replace IPv4 on the Internet, was eventually na med Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) in 1995.[3][4] The address size was incre ased from 32 to 128 bits or 16 octets. This, even with a generous assignment of network blocks, is deemed sufficient for the foreseeable future. Mathematically, the new address space provides the potential for a maximum of 2128, or about 3. 4031038 addresses. The primary intent of the new design is not to provide just a sufficient quantit y of addresses, but rather to allow an efficient aggregation of subnetwork routi ng prefixes at routing nodes. As a result, routing table sizes are smaller, and the smallest possible individual allocation is a subnet for 264 hosts, which is

the square of the size of the entire IPv4 Internet. At these levels, actual addr ess utilization rates will be small on any IPv6 network segment. The new design also provides the opportunity to separate the addressing infrastructure of a net work segment, that is the local administration of the segment's available space, from the addressing prefix used to route external traffic for a network. IPv6 h as facilities that automatically change the routing prefix of entire networks, s hould the global connectivity or the routing policy change, without requiring in ternal redesign or manual renumbering. The large number of IPv6 addresses allows large blocks to be assigned for specif ic purposes and, where appropriate, to be aggregated for efficient routing. With a large address space, there is not the need to have complex address conservati on methods as used in CIDR. Many modern desktop and enterprise server operating systems include native suppo rt for the IPv6 protocol, but it is not yet widely deployed in other devices, su ch as home networking routers, voice over IP (VoIP) and multimedia equipment, an d network peripherals. IPv6 private addresses Just as IPv4 reserves addresses for private or internal networks, blocks of addr esses are set aside in IPv6 for private addresses. In IPv6, these are referred t o as unique local addresses (ULA). RFC 4193 sets aside the routing prefix fc00:: /7 for this block which is divided into two /8 blocks with different implied pol icies. The addresses include a 40-bit pseudorandom number that minimizes the ris k of address collisions if sites merge or packets are misrouted.[8] Early designs used a different block for this purpose (fec0::), dubbed site-loca l addresses.[9] However, the definition of what constituted sites remained uncle ar and the poorly defined addressing policy created ambiguities for routing. Thi s address range specification was abandoned and must not be used in new systems. [10] Addresses starting with fe80:, called link-local addresses, are assigned to inte rfaces for communication on the link only. The addresses are automatically gener ated by the operating system for each network interface. This provides instant a nd automatic network connectivity for any IPv6 host and means that if several ho sts connect to a common hub or switch, they have a communication path via their link-local IPv6 address. This feature is used in the lower layers of IPv6 networ k administration (e.g. Neighbor Discovery Protocol). None of the private address prefixes may be routed on the public Internet. IP subnetworks IP networks may be divided into subnetworks in both IPv4 and IPv6. For this purp ose, an IP address is logically recognized as consisting of two parts: the netwo rk prefix and the host identifier, or interface identifier (IPv6). The subnet ma sk or the CIDR prefix determines how the IP address is divided into network and host parts. The term subnet mask is only used within IPv4. Both IP versions however use the CIDR concept and notation. In this, the IP address is followed by a slash and th e number (in decimal) of bits used for the network part, also called the routing prefix. For example, an IPv4 address and its subnet mask may be 192.0.2.1 and 2 55.255.255.0, respectively. The CIDR notation for the same IP address and subnet is 192.0.2.1/24, because the first 24 bits of the IP address indicate the netwo rk and subnet. IP address assignment

Internet Protocol addresses are assigned to a host either anew at the time of bo oting, or permanently by fixed configuration of its hardware or software. Persis tent configuration is also known as using a static IP address. In contrast, in s ituations when the computer's IP address is assigned newly each time, this is kn own as using a dynamic IP address. Methods Static IP addresses are manually assigned to a computer by an administrator. The exact procedure varies according to platform. This contrasts with dynamic IP ad dresses, which are assigned either by the computer interface or host software it self, as in Zeroconf, or assigned by a server using Dynamic Host Configuration P rotocol (DHCP). Even though IP addresses assigned using DHCP may stay the same f or long periods of time, they can generally change. In some cases, a network adm inistrator may implement dynamically assigned static IP addresses. In this case, a DHCP server is used, but it is specifically configured to always assign the s ame IP address to a particular computer. This allows static IP addresses to be c onfigured centrally, without having to specifically configure each computer on t he network in a manual procedure. In the absence or failure of static or stateful (DHCP) address configurations, a n operating system may assign an IP address to a network interface using state-l ess auto-configuration methods, such as Zeroconf. Uses of dynamic address assignment IP addresses are most frequently assigned dynamically on LANs and broadband netw orks by the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP). They are used because it avoids the administrative burden of assigning specific static addresses to each device on a network. It also allows many devices to share limited address space on a network if only some of them will be online at a particular time. In most current desktop operating systems, dynamic IP configuration is enabled by defaul t so that a user does not need to manually enter any settings to connect to a ne twork with a DHCP server. DHCP is not the only technology used to assign IP addr esses dynamically. Dialup and some broadband networks use dynamic address featur es of the Point-to-Point Protocol. Sticky dynamic IP address A sticky dynamic IP address is an informal term used by cable and DSL Internet a ccess subscribers to describe a dynamically assigned IP address which seldom cha nges. The addresses are usually assigned with DHCP. Since the modems are usually powered on for extended periods of time, the address leases are usually set to long periods and simply renewed. If a modem is turned off and powered up again b efore the next expiration of the address lease, it will most likely receive the same IP address. Address autoconfiguration RFC 3330 defines an address block, 169.254.0.0/16, for the special use in link-l ocal addressing for IPv4 networks. In IPv6, every interface, whether using stati c or dynamic address assignments, also receives a local-link address automatical ly in the block fe80::/10. These addresses are only valid on the link, such as a local network segment or p oint-to-point connection, that a host is connected to. These addresses are not r outable and like private addresses cannot be the source or destination of packet s traversing the Internet. When the link-local IPv4 address block was reserved, no standards existed for me chanisms of address autoconfiguration. Filling the void, Microsoft created an im plementation that is called Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA). Due to Micr osoft's market power, APIPA has been deployed on millions of machines and has, t

hus, become a de facto standard in the industry. Many years later, the IETF defi ned a formal standard for this functionality, RFC 3927, entitled Dynamic Configu ration of IPv4 Link-Local Addresses. Uses of static addressing Some infrastructure situations have to use static addressing, such as when findi ng the Domain Name System (DNS) host that will translate domain names to IP addr esses. Static addresses are also convenient, but not absolutely necessary, to lo cate servers inside an enterprise. An address obtained from a DNS server comes w ith a time to live, or caching time, after which it should be looked up to confi rm that it has not changed. Even static IP addresses do change as a result of ne twork administration (RFC 2072). Public addresses A public IP address, in common parlance, is synonymous with a globally routable unicast IP address.[citation needed] Both IPv4 and IPv6 define address ranges that are reserved for private networks and link-local addressing. The term public IP address often used excludes these types of addresses. Modifications to IP addressing IP blocking and firewalls Firewalls perform Internet Protocol blocking to protect networks from unauthoriz ed access. They are common on today's Internet. They control access to networks based on the IP address of a client computer. Whether using a blacklist or a whi telist, the IP address that is blocked is the perceived IP address of the client , meaning that if the client is using a proxy server or network address translat ion, blocking one IP address may block many individual computers. IP address translation Multiple client devices can appear to share IP addresses: either because they ar e part of a shared hosting web server environment or because an IPv4 network add ress translator (NAT) or proxy server acts as an intermediary agent on behalf of its customers, in which case the real originating IP addresses might be hidden from the server receiving a request. A common practice is to have a NAT hide a l arge number of IP addresses in a private network. Only the "outside" interface(s ) of the NAT need to have Internet-routable addresses.[11] Most commonly, the NAT device maps TCP or UDP port numbers on the side of the la rger, public network to individual private addresses on the masqueraded network. In small home networks, NAT functions are usually implemented in a residential g ateway device, typically one marketed as a "router". In this scenario, the compu ters connected to the router would have private IP addresses and the router woul d have a public address to communicate on the Internet. This type of router allo ws several computers to share one public IP address. Diagnostic tools Computer operating systems provide various diagnostic tools to examine their net work interface and address configuration. Windows provides the command-line inte rface tools ipconfig and netsh and users of Unix-like systems can use ifconfig, netstat, route, lanstat, fstat, or iproute2 utilities to accomplish the task. See also IP address location

Hierarchical name space Hostname: a human-readable alpha-numeric designation that may map to an IP addre ss IP address spoofing IP aliasing IP blocking IP Multicast IPv4 subnetting reference IPv6 subnetting reference List of assigned /8 IPv4 address blocks MAC address Ping (networking utility) Private network Regional Internet Registry Subnet address Virtual IP address WHOIS References ^ a b c RFC 760, DOD Standard Internet Protocol (January 1980) ^ a b RFC 791, Internet Protocol DARPA Internet Program Protocol Specification ( September 1981) ^ a b RFC 1883, Internet Protocol, Version 6 (IPv6) Specification, S. Deering, R . Hinden (December 1995) ^ a b RFC 2460, Internet Protocol, Version 6 (IPv6) Specification, S. Deering, R . Hinden, The Internet Society (December 1998) ^ Smith, Lucie; Lipner, Ian (3 February 2011). "Free Pool of IPv4 Address Space Depleted". Number Resource Organization. Retrieved 3 February 2011. ^ ICANN,nanog mailing list. "Five /8s allocated to RIRs no unallocated IPv4 unic ast /8s remain". ^ Asia-Pacific Network Information Centre (15 April 2011). "APNIC IPv4 Address P ool Reaches Final /8". Retrieved 15 April 2011. ^ RFC 4193 section 3.2.1 ^ RFC 3513 ^ RFC 3879 ^ Comer, Douglas (2000). Internetworking with TCP/IP:Principles, Protocols, and Architectures 4th ed.. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. p. 394. ISBN 0-13018380-6. External links IP at the Open Directory Project "Understanding IP Addressing: Everything You Ever Wanted To Know". Archived from the original on 21 August 2010. Categories: Network addressingInternet Protocol Navigation menu Create accountLog inArticleTalkReadView sourceView history Search Main page Contents Featured content Current events Random article Donate to Wikipedia Interaction Help About Wikipedia Community portal Recent changes Contact page Toolbox

Print/export Languages Afrikaans Alemannisch ??????? Aragons Arpetan Az?rbaycanca ????? ?????????? ?????????? (???????????)? ????????? Boarisch Brezhoneg Catal Cesky Dansk Deutsch Eesti ???????? Espaol Esperanto Euskara ????? Froyskt Franais Gaeilge Galego ??????? ??? ?????? Hrvatski Bahasa Indonesia Interlingua slenska Italiano ????? ??????? ??????? Kurd ???????? ??? Latvie u Lietuviu Limburgs Lingla Lumbaart Magyar ?????????? Maori Bahasa Melayu ?????????? Nederlands ??? ??????? Norsk bokml Norsk nynorsk Occitan ???? ????? Papiamentu

Polski Portugus Romna ??????? ???? ???? Shqip Sicilianu ????? Slovencina Sloven cina ????? ?????? / srpski Srpskohrvatski / ?????????????? Suomi Svenska ????? Taqbaylit ?????? ??? Trke ?????????? ???? Vneto Ti?ng Vi?t West-Vlams ?????? Yorb emaite ka ?? Edit links This page was last modified on 25 July 2013 at 13:07. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; add itional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and P rivacy Policy. Wikipedia is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-prof it organization. Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaMobile viewWikimedia Fo undation Powered by MediaWiki