IP Addresses

Every node in a network must have its own individual and unique address so that data transmitted over a private or public network reaches its correct destination.  As well as having a physical address in a network, each node also has a logical address, or an IP Address.  The IP is made of of 4 groups of numbers ranging from 0 to 255, each separated by a period.  These 4 groups are called octets. 

Originally IP addresses were divided into classes to increase the number of addresses available.  Using this system addresses were classified by network.  Networks ranged from Class A through Class E.  The classes define which octet in the address define the network.  Typical A classes include large educational networks, businesses, and government entities.  B Classes also includes large educational networks as well as business and government entities.  C Classes are made of small-to-medium size business and ISPs.

As the demand for more IP addresses increased, the development of a classes routing system occurred.  This allowed network administrators to expand the number of network nodes assigned to a certain address.  In order to view your networked computer's IP address you can use the command prompt window and the "ipconfig/all" command.  This will display your machines current IP address.

Current IP addresses are called IPv4, containing 32bits of information defining the address.  A new version called IPv6 is expected to replace IPv4's 32bits with 128bits, allowing more addresses.