IP address is a unique identifier of a computer on TCP/IP networks and on the internet.
Every computer requires a unique IP address to be a part of the internet and the IP address is provided by the internet service providers.
Every IP address consists of the 32 bits and a binary system of 0s and 1s. On a same network segment, all the IP address share the same network address.
There are five classes of the IP addresses such as A, B, C, D and E and only 3 classes are in the use.
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Class D IP addresses are reserved for the multicast group ant cannot be assigned to hosts and the E class IP addresses are the experimental addresses and cannot be assigned to the people. |
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Every IP address consists of 4 octets and 32 bits. Every participating host and the devices on a network such as servers, routers, switches, DNS, DHCP, gateway, web server, internet fax server and printer have their own unique addresses within the scope of the network. |
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If one has to send data to any host in the Internet, there is a need to uniquely identify all the hosts in the Internet. Thus, there is a need for a global addressing scheme in which no two hosts have the same address. |