What is an IP Address?
An Internet Protocol address (IP address) is a numerical label assigned to each device connected to a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication, which is a set of standard predefined rules used to govern the way data packets are sent over the internet. For two devices to communicate, they must be able to find each other & their locations must be known to each other. These locations are identified in the computer world as IP addresses. This is a series of numbers used to uniquely identify a computer/device on a network or on the internet. The IP address basically indicates the location of a device on a network: it is a unique identifier for devices. This is similar to an address uniquely identifying a house. Every house is identified by a street number (IP address) that can be located on a certain street (network address). As such, two computers cannot have the same IP address on a network.
You can also watch videos in which explain what is IP?
Types of IP Addresses:
That's quite a variety! Following those links will give you much more information on what they each mean. To add to the complexity, each type of IP address can be an IPv4 address or an IPv6 address...
How To Find Your IP Address?
Different devices and operating systems require unique steps to find the IP address. There are also different steps to take if you're looking for the public IP address provided to you by your ISP.
Finding Your Public IP Address:
There are lots of ways to find your router's public IP address but sites like IP Chicken, WhatsMyIP.org, or WhatIsMyIPAddress.com make this super easy.
You can also use Google search to find your IP address. Type "what is my IP address" as a search query and Google will show the IP address of the computer.
Finding Your Private IP Address:
View the IP in Microsoft Windows:
1-Open the command line.
2-From the prompt, type ipconfig and press Enter.
3-You should see information similar to what is shown below. Look for the number sequence next to IPv4 Address.
"Windows IP Configuration
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.101"
View the IP in Linux and Unix:
1-Open the Linux or Unix shell if you are utilizing a GUI interface for your Linux or Unix machine.
2-From the prompt, type "ifconfig eth0" (without the quotes) and press enter. This should give you a listing of network information similar to what is seen below.
""eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:A0:24:72:EB:0A inet addr:10.10.10.2
Bcast:10.0.0.255 Mask:255.255.255.0 UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST
MTU:1500 Metric:1 RX packets:5569799 errors:32 dropped:32 overruns:0 frame:6 TX
packets:3548292 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:3 collisions:14 interrupt:18
base address:0xda00""
View the IP address on a Mac:
1-From the Desktop, click on the Apple menu icon in the upper-lefthand corner of the screen.
2-In the drop-down menu that appears, select System Preferences...
3-On the left-hand side find and click Network.
4-Click on the Internet connection device you're utilizing (usually denoted by a green dot next to it).
5-Your IP address is under IPv4 Addresses.
The Format of an IP Address:
The format of an IP address is a 32-bit numeric address written as four numbers separated by periods. Each number can be 0 to 255. For example, 1.160.10.240 could be an IP address.
With an IPv4 IP address, there are five classes of available IP ranges: Class A, Class B, Class C, Class D and Class E, while only A, B, and C are commonly used. Each class allows for a range of valid IP addresses, shown in the following table.
An Internet Protocol address (IP address) is a numerical label assigned to each device connected to a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication, which is a set of standard predefined rules used to govern the way data packets are sent over the internet. For two devices to communicate, they must be able to find each other & their locations must be known to each other. These locations are identified in the computer world as IP addresses. This is a series of numbers used to uniquely identify a computer/device on a network or on the internet. The IP address basically indicates the location of a device on a network: it is a unique identifier for devices. This is similar to an address uniquely identifying a house. Every house is identified by a street number (IP address) that can be located on a certain street (network address). As such, two computers cannot have the same IP address on a network.
You can also watch videos in which explain what is IP?
Types of IP Addresses:
That's quite a variety! Following those links will give you much more information on what they each mean. To add to the complexity, each type of IP address can be an IPv4 address or an IPv6 address...
- Private IP addresses
- Public IP addresses
- Static IP addresses and
- Dynamic IP addresses
How To Find Your IP Address?
Different devices and operating systems require unique steps to find the IP address. There are also different steps to take if you're looking for the public IP address provided to you by your ISP.
Finding Your Public IP Address:
There are lots of ways to find your router's public IP address but sites like IP Chicken, WhatsMyIP.org, or WhatIsMyIPAddress.com make this super easy.
You can also use Google search to find your IP address. Type "what is my IP address" as a search query and Google will show the IP address of the computer.
Finding Your Private IP Address:
View the IP in Microsoft Windows:
1-Open the command line.
2-From the prompt, type ipconfig and press Enter.
3-You should see information similar to what is shown below. Look for the number sequence next to IPv4 Address.
"Windows IP Configuration
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.101"
View the IP in Linux and Unix:
1-Open the Linux or Unix shell if you are utilizing a GUI interface for your Linux or Unix machine.
2-From the prompt, type "ifconfig eth0" (without the quotes) and press enter. This should give you a listing of network information similar to what is seen below.
""eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:A0:24:72:EB:0A inet addr:10.10.10.2
Bcast:10.0.0.255 Mask:255.255.255.0 UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST
MTU:1500 Metric:1 RX packets:5569799 errors:32 dropped:32 overruns:0 frame:6 TX
packets:3548292 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:3 collisions:14 interrupt:18
base address:0xda00""
View the IP address on a Mac:
1-From the Desktop, click on the Apple menu icon in the upper-lefthand corner of the screen.
2-In the drop-down menu that appears, select System Preferences...
3-On the left-hand side find and click Network.
4-Click on the Internet connection device you're utilizing (usually denoted by a green dot next to it).
5-Your IP address is under IPv4 Addresses.
The Format of an IP Address:
The format of an IP address is a 32-bit numeric address written as four numbers separated by periods. Each number can be 0 to 255. For example, 1.160.10.240 could be an IP address.
With an IPv4 IP address, there are five classes of available IP ranges: Class A, Class B, Class C, Class D and Class E, while only A, B, and C are commonly used. Each class allows for a range of valid IP addresses, shown in the following table.
| Class | Address Range | Supports |
|---|---|---|
| Class A | 1.0.0.1 to 126.255.255.254 | Supports 16 million hosts on each of 127 networks. |
| Class B | 128.1.0.1 to 191.255.255.254 | Supports 65,000 hosts on each of 16,000 networks. |
| Class C | 192.0.1.1 to 223.255.254.254 | Supports 254 hosts on each of 2 million networks. |
| Class D | 224.0.0.0 to 239.255.255.255 | Reserved for multicast groups. |
| Class E | 240.0.0.0 to 254.255.255.254 | Reserved for future use, or Research and Development Purposes. |
