The IP part in IP Address stands for “Internet Protocol” and the Address part refers to the actual number itself. Every single device connected to the internet has an IP address — from your smart fridge to your Amazon echo to your computers and smartphones. Just like when you mail a letter, you write an address on it and that address allows it to get to the desired location, an IP address allows you to send and receive information over the internet.
Computers use the IP address, which is a unique identifier, to make sure that data is sent correctly to the right places on the internet. If an IP address and ip phone systems didn’t exist data will be going out randomly and it won’t end up in the right place. So, the IP address is a unique identifier that makes sure data goes out to where it is supposed to go.
How IP address Works
Most networks today make use of TCP/IP protocol to communicate with all computers that are connected to the network. In this protocol, the unique identifier is called an IP, that’s where the name IP address originates. It is an IP protocol that is used everywhere on the internet today.
Standards for IP Address
There are two major standards for IP addresses: the IPv4 address which stands for “Internet protocol version 4” and the IPv6 which stands for “Internet protocol version 6.” All computers that are connected to the internet have an ipv4 address and most modern new computers are also using the Ipv6 protocol whenever they can. It is pretty cool because computers can use both simultaneously and still work correctly. Ipv6 is newer and has more space than Ipv4, which is still frequently used.
The Ipv4 uses 32 binary bits to create a single unique address and the network and ipv4 are shown as four numbers with dots separating them. An example is 193.168.1.3. Each number in the set is an 8-digit binary number also known as an octet. An Ipv6 uses 128 binary bits to create its single unique address on the network.
Find your IP Address
You can find the IP addresses of all your devices on Ipcost.com. It would answer the question; what’s my IP address?
