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 the Internet
Protocol for
communication. An IP address
serves two principal functions: host or network interface identification and location addressing.
Its role has been characterized as follows: "A name indicates what we seek. An address
indicates where it is. A route indicates how to get there.
The designers of the Internet Protocol
defined an IP address as a 32-bit number and this system, known as Internet Protocol Version 4 (IPv4), is still in use today.
However, because of the growth of the Internet and the predicted depletion of available addresses, a new
version of IP (IPv6),
using 128 bits for the address, was developed in 1995. IPv6 was standardized as RFC 2460 in 1998, and its deployment has been ongoing since the mid-2000s.
IP addresses are usually written and
displayed in human-readable notations, such as 172.16.254.1
(IPv4), and 2001:db8:0:1234:0:567:8:1 (IPv6).
The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) manages the IP address space
allocations globally and delegates five regional Internet registries (RIRs) to allocate IP address blocks
to local Internet registries (Internet service providers) and other
entities.
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