IP addressing is a fundamental concept in networking, serving as a unique identifier for devices on a network. In the IPv4 system, addresses consist of 32 bits divided into four octets (8 bits each), written in dotted decimal notation (e.g., 192.168.1.1). Each address has two components: a network portion and a host portion, determined by the subnet mask. IP addresses are categorized into classes (A, B, C, D, E) based on their first octet values, though Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR) has largely replaced this system. CIDR notation (e.g., 192.168.1.0/24) specifies the number of bits used for the network portion. Subnetting divides networks into smaller segments, improving efficiency and security. This process involves borrowing bits from the host portion to create additional network bits. Private IP ranges (10.0.0.0/8, 172.16.0.0/12, 192.168.0.0/16) are reserved for internal networks and not routable over the internet. Network Address Translation (NAT) allows devices with private IPs to communicate with the internet through a single public IP. IPv6 was developed to address IPv4's limited address space. It uses 128-bit addresses written in hexadecimal format (e.g., 2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334), offering approximately 340 undecillion unique addresses. DHCP automates IP configuration by dynamically assigning addresses to devices. Static IPs are manually configured and remain constant. IP addressing also includes special addresses: loopback (127.0.0.1), default gateway (router's IP), broadcast addresses (for sending packets to all devices on a subnet), and multicast addresses (for group communication). Understanding IP addressing is essential for network design, troubleshooting, and implementation of routing, subnetting, and network services.

IP addressing is a fundamental concept in networking, serving as a unique identifier for devices on a network. In the IPv4 system, addresses consist of 32 bits divided into four octets (8 bits each),…

Concepts covered: IP Address Classes, IPv6 Addressing, CIDR Notation, Default Gateway, Address Resolution Protocol (ARP), IPv4 Addressing, IP Address Allocation and Assignment, Supernetting, Private IP Addressing, Broadcast Address