IP

IP 1. Short for Internet Protocol address, an IP address is an address of a computer or other network device on a network using TCP/IP. For example, the number "166.70.10.23" is an example of such an address. These addresses are similar to an addresses used on a house and is what allows data to reach the appropriate destination on a network and the Internet. 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. Below is a listing of these addresses. Class

Address Range

Class A

1.0.0.1 to 126.255.255.254

Supports 16 million hosts on e

Class B

128.1.0.1 to 191.255.255.254

Supports 65,000 hosts on each

Class C

192.0.1.1 to 223.255.254.254

Supports 254 hosts on each of

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 Re

Ranges 127.x.x.x are reserved for the loopback or localhost, for example, 127.0.0.1 is the common loopback address. Range255.255.255.255 broadcasts to all hosts on the local network. IP address breakdown Every IP address is broke down into four sets of octets that break down into binary to represent the actual IP address. The below table is an example of the IP 255.255.255.255. If you are new to binary, we highly recommend reading our binary

and hexadecimal conversions section to get a better understanding of what we're doing in the below charts. IP:

255

255

2

Binary value:

11111111

11111111

1

Octet value:

8

8

If we were to break down the IP "166.70.10.23", you would get the below value. In the below table, the first row is the IP address, the second row is the binary values, and the third row shows how the binary value equals the section of the IP address. 166

70

10

10100110

01000110

00001010

128+32+4+2=166

64+4+2=70

8+2=10

Automatically assigned addresses There are several IP addresses that are automatically assigned when you setup a home network. These default addresses are what allow your computer and other network devices to communicate and broadcast information over your network. Below is the most commonly assigned network addresses in a home network. 192.168.1.0

0 is the automatically assigned network address.

192.168.1.1

1 is the commonly used address used as the gateway

192.168.1.2

2 is also a commonly used address used for a gatewa

192.168.1.3 - 254

Addresses beyond 3 are assigned to computers and d

192.168.1.255

255 is automatically assigned on most networks as th

If you have ever connected to your home network, you should be familiar with the gateway address or 192.168.1.1, which is the address you use to connect to your home network router and change its settings. Getting an IP address By default the router you use will assign each of your computers their own IP address, often using NAT to forward the data coming from those computers to outside networks such as the Internet. If you need to register an IP address that can be seen on the Internet, you must register through InterNIC or use a web host that can assign you addresses. Anyone who connects to the Internet is assigned an IP address by their Internet Service Provider (ISP) who has registered a range of IP addresses. For example, lets assume your ISP is given 100 addresses, 109.145.93.150-250. This means the ISP owns addresses 109.145.93.150 to 109.145.93.250 and is able to assign any address in that range to its customers. So, all these addresses belong to your ISP address until they are assigned to a customers computer. In the case of a dialup connection, you are given a new IP address each time you dial into your ISP. With most broadband Internet service providers because you are always connected to the Internet your address rarely changes and will remain the same until the service provider requires it to be changed.

What is the difference between public and private IP addresses? This article describes public and private IP addresses and the difference between them.

Public IP addresses A public IP address is any valid address, or number, that can be accessed over the Internet. Internet standards groups, such as the Network Information Center (NIC) or the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), are the organizations responsible for registering IP ranges and assigning them to organizations, such as Internet Service Providers (ISPs). In the Cloud(n) system, a public IP address is an identifier assigned to a virtual router on the network. Any resources that will be available over the Internet will require a public IP address. Public IP addresses can be added in the Cloud Console.

Private IP addresses A private IP address is any number or address assigned to a device on a private TCP/IP Local Area Network that is accessible only within the Local Area Network. For a resource inside the Local Area

Network to be accessible over the Internet, a device within the Local Area Network must be connected to the Internet with a public IP address, and the networking must be appropriately configured. The same Internet standards organizations have reserved the following three IP address ranges that will never be registered publicly: First IP in block 10.0.0.0 172.16.0.0 192.168.0.0

Last IP in block 10.255.255.255 172.31.255.255 192.168.255.255

A private IP address is assigned to each instance created in the Cloud(n) system. Consequently, each instance may only have one private IP address, and additional private IP addresses cannot be added.