IP Addressing Basics and Their Importance

Jun 27, 2024

IP Addressing Basics and Their Importance

Logical Addressing and IP Address

  • Logical Addressing refers to assigning a unique IP address to each device connected to the Internet.
  • IPv4 and IPv6 are two versions of Internet Protocol (IP).
  • IPv4 assigns a 32-bit address to each device, leading to approximately 4.3 billion combinations.
  • IPv6 assigns a 128-bit address, vastly increasing the number of possible addresses.

Importance of IP Addressing

  • Essential for identifying and communicating with devices on the Internet.
  • Each device gets a unique and universal address.
  • IP addresses can change, but they are always unique to the connection.

Address Notations

  • Binary Notation: Representing the IP address in binary form (e.g., 00110011... for 32 bits).
  • Dotted Decimal Notation: Dividing the IP address into four 8-bit segments, converted to decimal (e.g., 172.16.254.1).

Classful Addressing

  • Divides the IP address into two parts: Network ID (prefix) and Host ID (suffix).
  • Network ID: Indicates the specific network.
  • Host ID: Identifies a specific device within that network.
  • Classes of Addressing:
    • Class A: Large networks, fewer in number. Network ID is 8 bits, Host ID is 24 bits. (Range: 0.0.0.0 to 127.255.255.255)
    • Class B: Medium-sized networks. Network ID and Host ID both are 16 bits. (Range: 128.0.0.0 to 191.255.255.255)
    • Class C: Small networks, higher in number. Network ID is 24 bits, Host ID is 8 bits. (Range: 192.0.0.0 to 223.255.255.255)
    • Class D: Reserved for multicast.
    • Class E: Reserved for future use.

Current Trends

  • Today, classful addressing is outdated.
  • Modern techniques like subnetting, supernetting, and Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR) are used.

Summary

  • IP addresses are crucial for device identification and communication on the Internet.
  • IPv4 and IPv6 cater to different addressing needs with different bit lengths.
  • Classful addressing helped initially but has been replaced by more flexible and scalable solutions.

Like and share the video if you found this helpful. Stay tuned for the next video on detailed class addressing.